The Phenomenon called Annamalai

Suddenly in Tamil Nadu, there is a buzz around one leader, Annamalai. He suddenly appeared on the scene and has managed to totally capture the imagination of youth and the rural milieu. Even the media which is usually aggressive towards BJP has either become soft or has been stunned. He has managed to steer the narratives and interviews away from the old beaten tracks of Dravidian philosophies and EVR philosophies and has kept the focus totally on Tamil Nadu Government and development. This is no mean achievement. 

Time, Place, and Man 

When he took charge, BJP was like the Congress of the 80s and 90s. Congress had no vote base but it used to have several factions, like Moopanar, Vazhapadi, Chidambaran, etc. factions. It had to just align with one of the two parties at election time to win their seats. BJP was more cohesive and the groupism was not high because its base was very poor. It had good speakers, had leaders but not one who can help the party build a foundation. 

The BJP leaders have been all along reacting in defensive and predictable ways. Responding to criticisms, harping on dravidianism, fighting divisive forces, etc. The time was also not ripe and it had no narrative to rally around. Probably Vetri vel was the first successful attempt. The atmosphere was too hostile for it and the media was there to play upon it. After several overtures by Modi and the Central Government during the previous AIADMK government, the people slowly started opening to them and became willing to look at them. Sadly, the coalition lost but BJP did gain vote share which is its baseline now. 

In one way, it is good that DMK is in power now. BJP traditionally has always been an effective opposition party. If the friendly AIADMK had won power, BJP’s opposition would have been muted and would have stagnated. That would have stymied its growth. With DMK in power, BJP has effectively usurped the opposition space, and the stage was set for some fresh youth leaders like Annamalai. He is a product of time, place, and man. There was a vacuum in Tamil Nadu political space and there is still in ruling as well as an opposition side. 

Belied Expectations 

Once he was made TN in-charge on the belief that one more faction had been added. But, it goes to the credit of central leadership that they sent a strong signal and also accommodated a few people suitably. National party leaders had the strong backing of the Central leadership. The post-election soul searching was a good detox administered. 

It was expected he would take head-on Dravidian philosophies, their leadership, and narratives. Old leadership also kept reiterating old narratives. He deftly steered clear of it and stayed focused. His leadership was evident when he started setting the narratives rather than countering narratives. This is something new for TN politics and Tamil Nadu media which is used to chewing the same cud suddenly was uprooted. Here is somebody who is well versed in current events and economics, and trying to lead the discussion to people-centric issues. His press meets are a treat to watch. Other IPS officers would have faced UPSC interviews only once in their lives, but all his press meets are like UPSC interviews. Often he knows more than the interviewers, which is saying nothing. His IPS and IIM training has honed his leadership skills. 

I was driven to write this piece after following his approach on recent charges of corruption in the Electricity Board and the purchase of Diwali sweets. I tweeted saying if he keeps alerting the public of upcoming corruption, this Government will become corruption-free. I thought tactically speaking, he should let it happen and charge at it! He kept releasing the information in installments and the Ministers were contradicting themselves. But, whether it happened or would have happened he has been successful in making the corruption charge stick. 

The visible change is the softening of the media. The media in TN is completely biased and one-sided. It was evident during the election. But, they realized they can’t be so blatant thanks to exposure by social media. Annamalai is quite tactical in engaging them. TN media has been usually aggressive with BJP and its leaders also were always on the edge and reacted in equal proportion. Annamalai keeps his composure, which is itself good enough to provoke the media making them make mistakes. 

He stays focused like Anchor. He steers narratives invariable around governance, development, economics, schemes, corruptions, etc. One person from DMK who could have been a counter is Thiru PT Rajan given his qualifications and experience but sadly he is getting sidetracked. He invites too many controversies and at one point I felt he could become what VP Singh became to Rajiv Gandhi. 

He is getting a spontaneous response from the youth and rural folks wherever he goes. I don’t see any serious threat from DMK. One hopes TN BJP would pose no problems for him.

Image Credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNpiQoQCWq0 (0:18)

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