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TN BJP gifts cars to four district secretaries for assembly seat wins
Ex-Tamil Nadu BJP chief L Murugan, who has now been elevated as a Union minister of state, had promised an Innova car to district functionaries, who worked to ensure the victory of the party’s MLA candidates in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Four of BJP’s district presidents in Tamil Nadu received an SUV each on Sunday as a reward for helping the party win four assembly seats in the April 6 assembly election held in Tamil Nadu, for which results were announced on May 2.
Ex-Tamil Nadu BJP chief L Murugan, who has now been elevated as a Union minister of state, had promised an Innova car to district functionaries, who worked to ensure the victory of the party’s MLA candidates in the 2021 Assembly polls. After a gap of twenty years, the BJP entered the assembly in Tamil Nadu this May with four MLAs. BJP contested 20 seats as part of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led the alliance in Tamil Nadu, and won in Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Modakurichi apart from a nail-biting contest in Coimbatore South. Murugan had said after their win is a strike against all those who ridiculed that BJP’s symbol lotus will never bloom in Tamil Nadu. Murugan is touring the state as part of the Jan Aashirwad Yatra. At the Chennai BJP office, he distributed the car keys of Toyota Innova Crysta to Maharajan (Tirunelveli), Dharmaraj (Kanyakumari), Sivasubramanian (Erode), and Nandakumar (Coimbatore).
“This was done to recognise hard-working district secretaries who won despite the climate here being against us,” said senior BJP leader C P Radhakrishnan. “Previously, such rewards were given by the DMK. It’s the first time we are doing it, and party workers will be enthused.” The cars were purchased using party funds.
Such rewards to district secretaries are common in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK and AIADMK have offered gold to party functionaries who bring successful election results. The national party has been trying to get a foothold into the Dravidian heartland after the demise of former chief ministers J Jayalalithaa in December 2016 and M Karunanidhi in August 2018. While it is evident that the Dravidian parties still hold sway in TN, with the DMK winning a majority and the AIADMK finishing second with 66 seats, the BJP’s modest performance has kept its ambition of becoming a dominant force in the state by 2026, alive. The BJP had last won four seats in Tamil Nadu in 2001 in alliance with the DMK. Now the BJP is focused on the upcoming local body polls for which the party has formed a 17-member panel for preparations. The alliance with the AIADMK is likely to continue. “Some more work and attention is all that’s required for the BJP to grow in Tamil Nadu,” said Radhakrishnan.
