Ahead of assuming charge as the new BJP president of Tamil Nadu state unit, president-designate Annamalai has decided to drive through the districts and unfold a massive roadshow before reaching Chennai from his hometown of Coimbatore. Annamalai, who was picked as the new state president of the party, will be taking charge of the role on July 16 - Friday at BJP state headquarters Kamalalayam in Chennai. 

In a bid to promote Annamalai as BJP's face in Tamil Nadu, the state unit of the Central ruling party has organized a rousing welcome for its new leader, who succeed L Murugan after the latter was inducted into the Union Cabinet in the recent cabinet overhaul carried out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Murugan's exit has prompted a fresh race in the state BJP unit to head the party and in a surprising move, the BJP Central leadership has appointed Annamalai, who is not even one year old with the party, as the Tamil Nadu state BJP President. 

The appointment was made last week and Annamalai has decided to take charge of the new role on July 16. Breaking the typical protocols of assuming charge, Annamalai will be sailing through the supporters to the shore of his new post as the state unit has planned to pour an unprecedented fashion of welcome to Annamalai. Two days ahead of taking charge, Annamalai has on Wednesday unfolded a massive roadshow before reaching Chennai from his hometown Coimbatore. 

According to reports, Annamalai has started from Coimbatore on Wednesday at 9.30 am and he will drive through every district in his stretch of reaching Chennai. He had begun his drive with greetings and reception from the party cadres in Coimbatore and from Coimbatore, he will visit Palladam, Tirupur, Perundurai, Erode, Sankari, Salem, Namakkal, Paramathi Velur, Karur, and Kulithalai. Annamalai will be given a resounding reception by the cadres in these places and he will end his day one of the roadshow in Trichy on Wednesday evening. 

He will start his second-day roadshow from Trichy on July 15 - Thursday and will sail on the party cadres and from Trichy, he will visit Perambalur, Veppur, Ulundurper, Villupuram, Vikravandi, Tindivanam, Melmaruvathur, Madurantakam, Chengalpattu, Guduvancherry, and will reach Tambaram after receiving a significant scale of reception from the cadres, which is first-of-its-kind reception accorded to the party chief, even before assuming the charge, in Tamil Nadu BJP's history. He will be ending his second-day roadshow in Tambaram on Thursday. 

On Friday morning, he will start from Tambaram and cover key areas in Chennai before reaching the BJP state headquarters in T Nagar. He will drive through Pallavaram, Alandur, and Saidapet before arriving at T Nagar. In what has become the party's efforts to display the growing base of BJP in the state, his massive roadshows from the west to east before assuming the charge had drawn national attention from across the country. 

Annamalai will be taking charge as the Tamil Nadu BJP President on Friday afternoon. He will be given a reception with 'Poorna Kumbham' (a traditional way of welcome) when he arrives at the BJP headquarters Kamalalayam in Chennai. The ceremony will be participated by former state president L Murugan, senior party leaders CT Ravi, P Sudhakar Reddy, Pon Radhakrishnan, L Ganesan, H Raja, CP Radhakrishnan, and BJP legislative party leader Nainar Nagendran. 

Annamalai, a former IPS officer, has joined BJP in August 2020 and he was straightaway appointed as the vice president of the state unit. Being a former IPS officer, Annamalai had drawn more attention in the state towards his political entry. He also had contested in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls and he eventually lost the race to the DMK candidate. However, it didn't bother his political rise as amid having a pile of senior leaders, the BJP had appointed 37-year-old Annamalai as the BJP state president. 

Annamalai has become the youngest person ever to become the state president. Addressing the media on Wednesday amid the roadshow, Annamalai has asserted that BJP will emerge as the largest political party in Tamil Nadu. He added that he will embrace the veteran and young leaders and age does not matter for assuming the leadership. Annamalai will be in the post of the party's state president for three years and he must lead the party without a major rift in the alliance. 

He will be assuming the charge at a high time when Tamil Nadu is ahead of local body polls in nine new districts in which the BJP and ADMK should showcase the alliance amid tensions between both the parties on who should be held accountable for the defeat in Tamil Nadu assembly polls. One of the major tasks and challenges for Annamalai would be preparing the party for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state. Earlier, he said that his primary aim is to continue the good work done by many leaders and to ensure that the efforts and sacrifices of the party cadres won't go in vain.

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