Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai has roasted Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief Seeman amidst a debate over which party holds the position of the third largest in Tamil Nadu in terms of vote percentage. Annamalai accused Seeman of involving the BJP in unnecessary controversies to distract from the allegations made by actress Vijayalakshmi against Seeman.
When asked about Annamalai’s comments about BJP’s significant growth in Tamil Nadu, Seeman, the NTK coordinator, responded by challenging the BJP to contest elections independently. He asserted that a party’s strength should be measured by its standalone performance, questioning how many votes the BJP could secure on its own. Seeman declared that if his party failed to prove its strength, he would dissolve it and leave politics.
Speaking to the reporters, NTK chief Seeman stated, “Stand alone in elections and show that you are a man. How many individual votes did you get after the June 4th election? If it is beyond me, I will dissolve my party. You will know who is the biggest party right? You should not join the alliances (votes), standalone face to face like a lion, fight alone, Then he is a man, he is a fighter.”
In a subsequent press conference in Chennai, Annamalai addressing Seeman’s challenge remarked that Seeman tends to target him whenever Vijayalakshmi raises her voice. Annamalai emphasized that Seeman should respond to Vijayalakshmi’s allegations directly, rather than diverting attention to the BJP.
Annamalai highlighted that the BJP contested in 19 constituencies in Tamil Nadu independently, with party-affiliated independents standing in 4 additional seats. He suggested comparing the BJP’s total votes to those of the NTK, subtracting any votes allegedly bought by the NTK, to determine the true standing of each party.
Referring to Seeman’s previous statements about dissolving his party if it did not surpass the votes of the People’s Welfare Alliance, Annamalai noted that Seeman evaded the issue when the results came out. Annamalai expressed respect for Seeman, emphasizing that he did not wish to engage in irrelevant disputes but maintained that the BJP would perform strongly in upcoming elections, both in Tamil Nadu and nationally.
Annamalai stated, “Let go of brother Seeman, whenever sister Vijayalakshmi talks, brother (Seeman) comes on top of me. Sister Vijayalakshmi will attack from there, and Seeman brother will immediately attack me without any connection. Did I make a fuss on Seeman? He should reply to sister Vijayalakshmi, why is he talking to me, did I make a fuss?”
“I am saying this generously and you are going to see the result on 4th June. Today, Bharatiya Janata Party is standing alone without Dravidian parties, we are standing in nineteen places and symbol is standing in four places. You ask brother Seeman to compare BJP’s 23 seats. I didn’t even say closely and would give minus thirty percent. Let them minus thirty percent of the votes we got, let’s see if he comes closely.”, he added.
“Well, you seem like a good person, so I’ll give you another minus 20 percent discount, so I’ll give you a 50 percent discount. He is running a political party, let he be good, I don’t want to tell him to shut the party down. What did he say earlier? I will buy one vote more than the People’s Welfare Alliance (Makkal Nala Kootani)… The editor has caught him right that the party will dissolve the party. Right after the 2016 election someone asked and he said, ‘I told you but …what’.” He further added
“So, I do not want to leave brother Seeman in this embarrassment, let him run the party, Seeman’s voice is an important voice in Tamil Nadu, and it should be there. I don’t want to get into an argument or debate. I am a person who has respect for Seeman. I am saying not to leave it upon us to divert something without connection. If this is done then on 4th of June, I want to see your face and you have to see our face, I don’t know why he is coming to this match without needing Aga. So, I don’t know why he is unnecessarily coming to this competition.” He finally said
Annamalai concluded by expressing confidence that the BJP would secure more than 400 seats in India and return to power for a third term, referencing Prakash Raj’s unsuccessful bid in the Karnataka elections as an example of the BJP’s competitive edge.
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