In the midst of political setback that he sparked over the exit of ADMK from the alliance, Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai is now enduring a health setback as he has been advised to be under rest for few days, due to which his statewide padayatra has been deferred. As the party cadres are wishing him a speedy recovery, they are told that the party will issue a new schedule for his rally. 

Days after his Delhi visit that came in the wake of his contentious leadership that led BJP's major partner ADMK to leave the alliance, Annamalai has now been diagnosed with a lower respiratory tract infection caused by a virus. The IPS officer-turned-politician has been given with medications and advised to be in rest for the next two weeks.  

Annamalai has visited Gleneagles Global Health City in Chennai with complaints of cough, breaking difficulties, throat pain, body ache, and fatigue. On Wednesday - October 4, the hospital has issued an official communique concerning Annamalai's health condition in which it has said, "This is to certify that Thiru. Annamalai K M/39 yrs visited Gleneagles Global Health City on 3rd October 2023 late evening with complaints of cough, breathing difficulty, throat pain, body ache, and fatigue."

The hospital further said, "He was evaluated by a Pulmonologist thoroughly and high resolution CT scan of the chest was also performed in addition to other relevant investigations. The CT scan showed nodules in basal segment of left lung. The provisional diagnosis of the Doctor is Lower Respiratory Tract infection of Viral etiology with bronchospasm. He was given some medications to relieve the acute symptoms and sent back home with vitals stable." 

"He has been prescribed medications for 5 days and has been asked to come for review at the end of 5 days. He has been prescribed bed rest for a period of two weeks for recovery", the hospital added. Following Annamalai's health setback, the Tamil Nadu BJP unit has announced that the upcoming schedule of Annamalai's padayatra 'En Mann, En Makkal' (My soil, my people), has been postponed. 

The party has announced that the phase-III of Annamalai's padayatra, which was scheduled to begin on October 6 from Mettupalayam, Coimbatore, has now been deferred to October 16 and that the new schedule will be released soon. However, the party has asserted that Annamalai would participate in a meeting of state-level executives and district presidents of the party in Chennai on Thursday - October 5. 

நமது மாநில தலைவர் திரு.@annamalai_k அவர்களின் #EnMannEnMakkal நடைபயணம் அக்டோபர் 6ஆம் தேதி தொடங்கவிருந்த நிலையில், தற்போது மாநில தலைவருக்கு ஏற்பட்ட உடல்நலக் குறைவால் அக்டோபர் 16ஆம் தேதிக்கு ஒத்திவைக்கப்படுகிறது.

நாளை திட்டமிட்டபடி மாவட்ட தலைவர்கள் கூட்டம் நடைபெறும் என்பதை… pic.twitter.com/3irj0T65Zq

— BJP Tamilnadu (@BJP4TamilNadu) October 4, 2023