Annamalai to take a break from politics, is he ending his political career after major defeat

CHENNAI: BJP state president Annamalai is taking a break and is flying to UK after the party’s major defeat despite campaigning strongly. He is flying to UK for three months for a fellowship program. The BJP could not win a single seat in the state. However, his UK trip has nothing to do with it and is pre-arranged, said sources close to him.

The party said his three-month long fellowship program at Oxford University was his long-standing wish and the trip was decided long before the elections.

The fellowship program is for young leaders and mid-career professionals with outstanding leadership potential. The program starts in mid-September and concludes in December. Annamalai has informed the party central leadership about this.

Annamalai was the reason why Tamil Nadu actively participated in the Lok Sabha elections, including star campaigners. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited the state. Modi's meditation at Kanyakumari's Vivekananda Para had garnered attention.

The BJP central leadership appointed Annamalai, a former IPS officer, in charge of the state while there are many senior leaders in the state. All the candidates, including him, who contested from Coimbatore in the Lok Sabha elections, lost. However, BJP came second in 12 out of 39 seats, surpassing AIDMK. A senior leader said that Annamalai's decision to stay away for three months was his own and not the party's and that he would come back as a different leader.

Annamalai, wanted the BJP to contest alone in the state, his remarks attacking the AIDMK, the largest constituent party of the NDA in the state, led to the defeat. His remarks against former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa caused major problems for the party.