BJP fields Murugan, Tamilisai among 27 in Tamil Nadu; Annamalai left out
Party has only retained three sitting MLAs & nominated five women candidates
The BJP on Friday announced names of 27 candidates for the Tamil Nadu Assembly poll, including Union Minister L Murugan from the Avanashi seat and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan from Mylapore, but its former state president K Annamalai is not in the electoral fray.
The absence of Annamalai, a former IPS officer who was the face of the party during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, from the list of candidates comes amidst reports of differences over seat allocation.
“In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, they asked me to contest. Now, nobody has asked me to contest. I did not seek an opportunity, and I am carrying out the tasks assigned to me. If the party decides and asks me to contest, I will,” Annamalai told reporters in Coimbatore last month.
Annamalai unsuccessfully contested from Aravakurichi in the 2021 Assembly election and also lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. When asked why Annamalai's name was not on the list of candidates, Union Minister and BJP state election in-charge Piyush Goyal said, “He is a dedicated soldier of the party, and had desired to work across the state rather than being restricted to one constituency.”
According to the BJP list, its Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan will contest from Coimbatore (North), Kirthika Shivkumar from Modakkurichi, S Vijayadharani from Vilavancode, and Nagesh Kumar from the Thalli seat.
The party has only retained three sitting MLAs, re-nominating MR Gandhi from Nagercoil. Party president Nainar Nagenthran, who won from the Tirunelveli constituency in the 2021 election, has been fielded from Sattur, while Vanathi Srinivasan, who defeated actor-politician Kamal Haasan from Coimbatore South, has been nominated from Coimbatore North.
Both Sattur and Coimbatore North were allotted to the AIADMK during seat-sharing negotiations. The AIADMK had offered the Avanashi (SC) seat, from where its former Speaker P Dhanapal had won in the previous election.
Besides, the party has nominated five women candidates, including S Vijayadharani from the Vilavancode constituency in Kanyakumari district.
