CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP is in turmoil as state president K Annamalai, after reviewing the party’s performance in the urban local body polls, has asked many district and mandal unit presidents to step down for failing to field candidates in many seats and for shoddy poll campaigns.
The party had fielded candidates in 5,594 out of the 12,838 seats that went to polls on February 19. It won 308 seats including 200 in Kanyakumari district. Party functionaries who attended the performance review meeting said Annamalai was unhappy over the party’s inability to field candidates in close to 57% of the seats. He said he would crack the whip on those responsible for the poor show in many districts. District and mandal presidents who fielded candidates in less than 20% of seats in their region were at the receiving end, said a functionary.
A senior leader, considered close to Annamalai, said the state president had given two weeks to the functionaries under heat to demit office on their own. If not, they would be removed from the post, he said.
The threat of shakeup has not gone down well among a section of the functionaries who attended the meeting held at the party headquarters in Chennai on Monday.
It is politically unwise to compare the BJP’s performance with that of the two Dravidian majors, said a senior leader. “The state president’s call for immediate removal of district and mandal presidents is undemocratic. It will demoralise them and hinder the party’s growth,” he said. “Unlike the state president (who was appointed by the national leadership), district presidents were elected by the cadres for three years. Their term will end only in December. If there are charges against them, they should be probed by the disciplinary committee. Sacking them at will is bound to create problem,” he said. Annamalai’s plan is to appoint people close to him in key positions, said a district unit president of the party. Meanwhile, Annamalai’s supporters have backed him. They said the party president was preparing the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and those who cling to party posts without contributing to its growth should give way to hardworking people.
A sked about the shakeup, Annamalai declined to speak. He said the party spokesperson would clarify.
“The state president's message was misunderstood. He asked the district presidents to crack whip on mandal presidents who failed to perform. District presidents have been given full powers to act. The state president did not talk about sacking district presidents,” said party spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy. However, several district presidents, who this reporter spoke to, said the threat to district presidents was loud and clear.
