Sources have indicated that up to fifteen former AIADMK and Congress MLAs are poised to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu. This influx of former legislators is expected to provide a significant boost to the saffron party’s presence in the state, particularly as it endeavors to expand its influence under the leadership of K Annamalai.
Tamil Nadu presents a formidable challenge for the BJP, having remained a stronghold that the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah-led party has struggled to penetrate. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections yielded no seats for the BJP in the state, although it did secure victories in four constituencies during the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. In preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has been strategically attracting leaders from rival parties, while simultaneously, K Annamalai, the party president in Tamil Nadu, has been conducting padyatras to energize grassroots party workers.
The roster of individuals who have recently joined the BJP includes notable figures such as P Kulandaivelu, a former DMK MP representing the Chidambaram Lok Sabha seat, K Vadivel, a former AIADMK MLA from Karur, and PS Sennimalai Kandasamy, a former AIADMK MLA from Aravakurichi. Other additions to the BJP’s ranks encompass individuals with diverse political backgrounds, including former ministers and MLAs from both the AIADMK and the Congress. Among them are Gomati Srinivasan, R Chinnaswamy, R Duraisamy (also known as Challenger Dorai), MV Rathinam, SM Vasan, S Muthukrishnan, PS Arul, NR Rajendiran, R Thangaraju, S Gurunathan, VR Jayaraman, K Balasubramaniam, and A Chandrasekaran.