Union Home Minister Amit Shah will begin the BJP’s ‘N Maan, N Makka’ (My Land, My People) yatra in Tamil Nadu from Rameswaram on July 28. The decision has been taken to increase its support base in the southern state ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
BJP national general secretary C T Ravi, who is in-charge of party affairs for the state, said the yatra will be held in five phases and will pass through the entire Tamil Nadu before culminating in Chennai in the second week of January.
“I believe this visit can be a game changer. The BJP’s popularity is on the rise and there is an anti-incumbency wave against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government. Ravi criticised the M K Stalin-led government on issues like corruption and poor law and order.
BJP’s eye on Tamil Nadu
The ‘padyatra’ will be led by BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit president K Annamalai. Despite being the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has not been able to do much in this state so far. Ravi said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win more seats than the DMK-led opposition in the Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP is in alliance with the AIADMK and some other parties in Tamil Nadu. There is a view in the party that Annamalai has established an identity in the state due to his aggression and outspoken stance on several issues. Tamil Nadu, which has 39 Lok Sabha seats, saw the DMK-led alliance win a landslide victory in the 2019 elections.
