Chennai: The Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to announce its state president soon. Among the major contenders for the post is Nainar Nagendran, the party MLA from Tirunelveli. While he was earlier a member of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), he switched over to the BJP in 2017. He had filed his nomination for the post today.
His name was proposed during a meeting by the current party chief K Annamalai, Union Minister L Murugan, former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, and Mahila Morcha President of the BJP Vanathi Srinivasan. While his name is almost finalised, the development comes a day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives in Chennai to hold talks with party leaders for the Assembly elections in the state next year.
Nagendra joined BJP in 2017
While he won from Tirunelveli in the 2006 and 2011 Assembly elections on AIADM ticket, he again won from the same constituency in the 2021 Assembly polls on the BJP ticket in the state. A native of Nagercoil’s Vadiveeswaram village, Nagendran belongs to Maravar sect of the larger Mukkulathor community. It is important to note here that the community plays a vital role in the southern part of the state.
While he had earlier served as the minister in the AIADMk Government between 2001 and 2006, he held various portfolios like Industry, Electricity, and Transport. Currently, serving as the state BJP Vice President, he was the first aspirant to arrive at the BJP state headquarters in Kamalalayamand and file his nominations for the post.
