Former K’taka IPS officer Annamalai, popularly known as ‘Singham’ joins BJP
Former IPS officer K. Annamalai, popularly referred as “Singham(lion)” during his posting in Karnataka, on Tuesday joined the BJP, to bring the “nationalist spirit to Tamil Nadu,” a state where assembly polls are scheduled next year and the BJP is trying to shed the “Hindi Heartland party” tag.
A native of Karur in Tamil Nadu, Mr Annamalai, who got the moniker ‘Singham’ during his stint in Karnataka for being a “tough cop,” recited a verse from the classic Tamil language text Thirukkural on ‘The Greatness of a King’ after joining the saffron party fold and said he finds all four qualities – fearlessness, courage, sharing nature and knowledge as mentioned in the verse –
in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that he will work as a loyal soldier to strengthen the movement which the BJP stands for and claimed that the party has been misrepresented in Tamil Nadu.
While the BJP asserted that the former IPS officer will be a “very important asset and addition” to the party in the southern state, where it is yet to dent the Dravidian parties dominance, Mr Annamalai said he has joined the party without any condition. The 36year-old former police officer has been associated with social works since quitting and speculation is rife that the BJP could field him in the assembly polls scheduled next year.
Mr Annamalai joined the BJP in presence of party’s national general secretary P. Murlidhar Rao and party’s state unit chief L. Murugan. The former IPS officer later met BJP president JP Nadda.
Welcoming him in the party fold, Mr Rao, who is also the party’s in-charge of Tamil Nadu, said the BJP as a political party is becoming more and more popular across the country and in all social segments and Mr Modi has a greater connect with the people, including in Tamil Nadu where Dravidian parties — AIADMK and DMK — have been dominating the electoral scene.