K Annamalai Unfiltered Ahead Of High-Stakes Tamil Nadu Assembly Polls — DMK vs BJP — English News

[0:00] Last two days to go for the elections in Tamil Nadu and the BJP has brought out the top guns [0:05] Prime Minister Modi in Coimbatore, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Mailapur [0:08] and the star campaigner Anna Malai in multiple spots within Chennai, across Chennai. [0:14] First I want to ask you in the video, Mr. Anna Malai, thank you for joining us on Times Now [0:18] and you know there's a video that's going really viral and I want to ask you first about that. [0:22] Prime Minister Modi on stage, EPS on stage, Nainar Nagindran on stage [0:26] but when your name was taken, the crowds cheered the loudest. [0:29] How does it make you feel seeing such love and support from people? [0:32] Just a career of the party, madam. It is not the cheers and the love they give is for Modiji [0:38] and we are all instruments of change following Modiji's path. [0:41] They continue to say this for the last four, five years [0:43] and all the love they give through us to Modiji. [0:47] We are all end of the day an instrument to bring Modiji's vision to Tamil Nadu. [0:52] It doesn't matter end of the day. [0:54] The prices and the applause and even sometimes the big banks also. [0:59] That is part of politics. [1:00] And I continue to be who I am. I have certain principles in life. [1:03] I continue to maintain those principles. [1:06] And I continue to follow my own passion which is to bring change at the grassroots level. [1:10] And right now the party has given me what to do for the next two days. [1:14] For the last one month I am doing this. [1:15] Next two days I have to continue to do that till 21st, 5pm. [1:18] And I hope and pray that NDA will come to power with a big and resounding mandate. [1:24] In fact, the Prime Minister apologised to the women. [1:26] Is that the biggest issue, women's reservation and delimitation, the biggest issue? [1:30] We are seeing the Chief Minister also release a separate manifesto for Chennai. [1:34] He has been holding roadshows in Chennai. [1:36] I see a lot of nervousness in DMK with respect to Chennai. [1:43] Normally DMK, the way the operators, they will try to get more than 20-22 seats in Chennai. [1:47] And they try to sweep in Delta which is the Cauvery hotline. [1:50] And yesterday whole day I was in Tanjavur, the Cauvery hotline. [1:53] I could see a lot of cracks in Cauvery belt. [1:56] So I don't think DMK is going to do well in Delta as well. [1:59] And DMK is not going to do well in Chennai. [2:02] Because Chennai has voted for DMK multiple times continuously. [2:05] Even when ADMK was in power, DMK continued to be the boss of Chennai for a long time. [2:09] The MPCs they used to win. [2:11] Now people are fed up with the crumbling civic infra. [2:13] If you look at one of the dirtiest cities of our country with more than a million population, [2:18] Chennai continues to be at 38 out of 40. [2:20] And the basic civic urban infra is an epithetic failure. [2:25] And wherever you go, you will see it's a traffic mess. [2:28] Either somebody has dug up a road, somebody is building something. [2:31] So people want change. [2:32] And people want accountability to be fixed. [2:34] So that is why DMK yesterday, for Chennai alone they came back, [2:37] they came with a micro promise. [2:39] Six promises they came. [2:40] They call that a six-r promise. [2:41] So it only shows the nervousness. [2:43] And the Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu yesterday, today and tomorrow [2:46] is focusing more in Chennai. [2:48] So I see Chennai will crack this time. [2:49] It will come towards NDA in a big way. [2:52] And it will be an onset of 2029 Lok Sabha also. [2:54] It is going to happen. [2:55] And the biggest issue for Tamil Nadu, of course, is going to be the pathetic law noder, [2:59] the ganja prevalence across Tamil Nadu. [3:01] And more importantly, the DMK and the Congress both, like a conjointed twin, [3:07] they made sure the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill got defeated in the parliament, [3:11] which is going to give 33% reservation to our mothers and sisters. [3:15] So of course, our women are very silent voters. [3:17] They don't come and express much, but I could see in their eyes, [3:20] they are waiting for their chance on April 23rd to show to DMK and Congress who they are. [3:25] Because they have insulted women. [3:26] They have tried to muscle their voice. [3:28] They try to make sure people from a first generation, agricultural, agrarian, rural background, [3:33] who is able to step into politics, this bill will facilitate their mood to become an NPR and MLA easier. [3:37] So I see women being a silent voter at this time. [3:40] Already, mothers and sisters of Tamil Nadu are fed up with law noder, adding to it the 33% amendment. [3:46] So I would see a historic verdict for NDA when the counting of votes will begin on May 4th. [3:49] Sir, with a few hours to go, we have seen Vijay visit the church, [3:53] after which the CPIM has also attacked him, saying that case should be registered. [3:57] But on the other hand, Stalin has also met multiple church leaders who have extended their support for the DMK. [4:02] Is that going to be a setback for the BJP? [4:05] How does the BJP view the visits of Vijay at the church leaders meeting Stalin? [4:10] It only reinforces the theory in Tamil Nadu politics, [4:12] where appeasement politics has taken precedence over developmental politics of Tamil Nadu. [4:17] It only gives credence to our consistent argument that DMK's leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister, [4:25] M.K. Stalinji, is only doing appeasement politics consistently. [4:29] That got proved yesterday morning. [4:31] And with respect to Vijay, I think Vijay also visited a church. [4:33] He also visited a mass. [4:34] That is for him to go wherever he wants to go, he can go. [4:37] He can visit a temple also, no complaints about it. [4:39] But we have to understand, in the election time, people can visibly display their faith. [4:44] As long as they make that as a polling issue, they try to bring religion angle into polling, [4:49] or in seeking votes, then election commission has to act. [4:52] But I only hope and pray people of Tamil Nadu are reading through what each of those leaders are doing. [4:57] Who is for all? [4:58] Who is for a certain community? [4:59] Who is trying to bring appeasement politics to the forefront? [5:02] So people are watching BJP, people are watching NDA, people are watching Mr. Vijay, people are watching Mr. Stalin, people are watching Mr. Simon also. [5:09] It is like all leaders are in the fray. [5:11] I would leave it to the voters to exercise their judgment on April 23. [5:15] Sir, lastly, I want to ask you, when Rahul Gandhi was in Tamil Nadu, he did not name M.K. Stalin even once. [5:21] Why do you think that is? What do you make of Stalin campaigning on one end, Rahul Gandhi not even naming the chief minister during his campaign? [5:28] The alliance is a crumbling alliance, madam. There is no chemistry for them. [5:31] Even if you look at Puducherry, the neighboring state, where Congress is supposed to contest in 16 seats out of 30. [5:36] Congress contested in 22. It contested 6 seats more than the allocated seats. [5:40] Even there, the alliance couldn't come up in a proper shape for Puducherry. [5:44] Tamil Nadu, I see from day one, where they keep fighting for seats. [5:47] For three increase in seats, they fought for one full month. [5:50] Multiple negotiations with Rahul Gandhi happened, in Chennai it happened. [5:53] Finally, Pichadambra went and met Tamil Nadu chief minister. [5:56] So, I think, in the ground I am seeing, none of the DMK workers are willing to work for Congress. [6:00] None of the Congress workers are willing to work for DMK. That is very visible. [6:04] And some of the Congress leaders also said, when you gave us only 28 seats, why will Rahul Gandhi come and campaign? [6:09] Sir, Rahul Gandhi came for one day. [6:10] The Honorable Prime Minister of our country, a very busy man, he himself is able to find five days in the last one month to come to Tamil Nadu. [6:18] Five days PM is able to come in the last one month to Tamil Nadu. [6:21] Opposition leader came half a day. [6:23] That too, half a day did not mention Mr. Stalin's name. [6:26] And he was doing his campaigning in one part of Chennai, the northern part. [6:30] Mr. Stalinji in the other part. [6:31] That clearly shows, it is just a matter of time. [6:34] After May 4, the so-called Indi alliance, the DMK will be coming out. [6:38] That is my prediction, you can see it. [6:39] I don't think this alliance continuing even a week after May 4, because the defeat is on the wall. [6:44] And the alliance have to blame each other and they will have to get separated. [6:47] So, what the India alliance which started, will end in Tamil Nadu on May 4. [6:51] Sir, since you mentioned Chidambaram, he has just spoken and said that the BJP will never get acceptance in Tamil Nadu. [6:57] He says that the DNA of the BJP is such that people of Tamil Nadu will never accept them. [7:01] So, Mr. Chidambaram should worry about Congress Party. [7:04] Congress Party has become a sidekick of DMK now. [7:07] A party which was in power in Tamil Nadu till 1967, he should worry about his party. [7:12] This time Congress Party will not even win a handful of seats. [7:15] So, instead of blaming the other party and giving us advice on how to run our own political party, [7:19] Mr. P. Chidambaram should focus on his constituency, understand why nothing is done for Shivaganga, [7:25] and he should focus on Congress Party. [7:27] Why Congress Party is a crumbling force, nobody wants to accept Congress in Tamil Nadu. [7:31] Then, he can talk about other parties. [7:33] It is a classic case of a pot calling the kettle black. [7:38] Thank you so much, Mr. Annamalai, for speaking to Times Now on a day of a very hectic campaign in Chennai. [7:43] Thank you so much for joining us. [7:44] With video journalist Manish Dhanani, this is Pratiba for Times Now.