Annamalai uses jallikattu arena to sing Modi paeans

It was 9 am on Saturday, 103rd day of ‘En Mann, En Makkal (My Land, My People) Yatra’ shepherded by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. The campaign, which aims to cover all 234 Assembly constituencies in the state, just entered its 228th pit stop.

The jallikattu (bull-taming sport) ground in Sakkudi, 17 km from here, was brimming with people as valorous youth jostled with each other to tame the bulls that were let out of the vaadivaasal. Clad in a white shirt and a dhoti, Annamalai entered the stage as the organisers announced prizes to be given away by him to the winners.

“A bull from my farm also participated in today’s jallikattu,” Annamalai told the crowd, adding that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who ensured that this sport would continue to be held for years to come.

“If not for him, we wouldn’t be enjoying this great show of bravery,” Annamalai claimed, referring to the BJP government approving a state-specific amendment that allowed the return of jallikattu, which was banned by the Supreme Court.

Half an hour later, the cavalcade stopped at the residence of a party functionary for breakfast. The yatra would now head to Madurai (West), a seat that is known as AIADMK’s bastion.

The yatra, launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 28 in Rameswaram, will culminate in Palladam in Tiruppur district on February 27 with Modi addressing a massive public rally.

Back in the car, Annamalai opens up to DH on the political situation in the state, the yatra, BJP’s plans for 2024 and the AIADMK walking out of the NDA.

Having a history of poor electoral performance in the Dravidian land, BJP believes Annamalai’s yatra, which focuses on Modi’s “goodies” to TN and India, will give the much-needed fillip to its growth. The 2024 elections are crucial for Annamalai as this is his first general election since he took over the party’s reigns in 2021.

The party wants to reverse the 2019 trend when the AIADMK-BJP alliance just won one seat, leaving the remaining 38 to DMK alliance which rode on an anti-Modi wave.

At 10:30 am, Annamalai reaches Jaihindpuram in Madurai after two impromptu stops to a rousing welcome by BJP cadres, and performances of traditional Tamil folk art, Thappattam and Kattakal.

Waving at onlookers, taking selfies and exchanging pleasantries with people, and talking to cadres, Annamalai walks the 2.5 km distance to reach the meeting venue at Jeeva Nagar. As loudspeakers blare Modi’s achievements as the PM, party cadres distribute a 45-page booklet in Tamil titled ‘What did Modi do to Tamil and Tamil Nadu’.

Atop a specially designed caravan, Annamalai begins his speech by asking people to trust the BJP and vote for the Prime Minister and detailing how he took Tamil to the global audience.

“Madurai is a city that saw the birth of three associations by erstwhile Pandya kings to nurture Tamil. Pandithurai Thevar was known as the 4th person who nurtured the language. Now, our PM has joined the list as the 5th person,” he tells the audience.

Kashi Tamil Sangamam, which revives the age-old connection between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi, and Sourashtra Tamil Sangamam are some of Modi’s contributions to the language and the Tamil culture, Annamalai says.

Turning to politics, Annamalai tears into both the DMK and AIADMK, though he didn’t name the party, branding them as “corrupt.”

“Politics in Tamil Nadu has been spoiled beyond repair. Corruption came into being in the state only after the DMK won in 1967. We need to clean up politics in Tamil Nadu and the 2024 elections is the right time. Please vote for BJP,” he says.

He also accuses the DMK and Chief Minister M K Stalin of not “fulfilling” the majority of the 511 promises made in the 2021 election manifesto. “They have hardly fulfilled 20 or 30 promises. But the CM says 99 per cent of promises have been delivered. But the BJP in 2019 gave 295 promises and we have fulfilled everything including Ayodhya Temple,” Annamalai claims.

As people brave the heat to listen, Annamalai trains his guns on local minister P Moorthy asking people whether they know of “Moorthy Tax.” He also takes a dig at IT Minister P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, who is MLA from Madurai (Central), saying only a portion of an audio tape purportedly containing his voice which criticises the CM’s family has come out in the public.

“The audio is one-hour long. Only 8 minutes has been leaked,” he says and turns his criticism to the AIADMK.

“The AIADMK says I look like a legiyam (paste made with herbs and spices) seller. Yes, I sell legiyam. I am going to sell legiyam in a big bottle on February 27,” Annamalai says, indicating that a few AIADMK leaders might join the BJP in the presence of Modi.

At 1 pm, the cavalcade turns to a narrow lane where A S Balasubramanian, who participated in the yatra in almost all constituencies along with Annamalai, lives in a rented accommodation, before reaching the airport.