Varsha Sriram

After a crushing defeat in the 17th Lok Sabha elections failing to win even a single seat (out of 5 seats contested), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now in search for a new president for its Tamil Nadu unit. The BJP will carefully choose its new chief. 

Party sources told Times of India, that the new chief will be someone who has an RSS background who is capable of chalking out an aggressive campaign to expand its base in Tamil Nadu. 

After losing to DMK’s Kanimozhi in Tuticorin, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundarajan has been criticised by a section of BJP leaders and she has drawn flak for her alleged “weak leadership.” Senior leaders allege that Tamilisai’s poor leadership skills had “created divisions within the party.” BJP high command’s move to replace Tamilisai with a “more dynamic leader” was in place a year ago, but was put off due to other important developments on the national front, said a source. 

In order to successfully make inroads into the state of Tamil Nadu, the party is determined to find a strong and ideal state president. The party has already begun discussions and has drawn a long list of possible candidates for the post. A BJP leader, speaking to TOI, in the condition of anonymity, said, “While the RSS background would be mandatory, the leader should have a grip on state politics, the local cultural ethos and also command respect of all leaders and cadres.” There is also a chance that the candidates’s affluence may be a factor for choosing the candidate. 

Coimbatore-based BJP state intellectual wing president professor P Kanagasabapathy, BJP state secretary professor R Srinivasan of Madurai and two BJP state general secretaries Karrupu M Muuruganandam of Tiruvarur and KS Narendiran based in Hosur are said to be the possible candidates for the new post. S Gurumurthy, a co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and coordinator, advisor to the BJP, has apparently floated the names of Kanagasabapathy and Srinvasan, who have been former members of the SJM.

BJP state general secretary, Vanathi Srinvasan, who lost to Tamilisai in getting a Lok Sabha seat is also in the running for the post. It is said that as soon as the new government settles down at the centre, the focus of the party will shift to finding a new chief for its unit in the state of Tamil Nadu.