00:00These are the images on our screen coming in about first meeting B.L. Santosh, Nitin Naveen, then Home Minister
00:07Amit Shah as well.
00:08Anna Malai, remember who was once everywhere, representing the Safran party in a state where clearly the BJP had no
00:15intention of really making inroads.
00:18And then comes in, yes, even of course the BJP even now hasn't been really able to turn the tables.
00:22It's the TVK that's in the government.
00:24But clearly Anna Malai, many would say, used his popularity to be able to bring into spotlight a party in
00:30a southern state that clearly had no popularity enough to be able to gather votes.
00:37So Anna Malai is in Delhi, but the BJP is asking him to hold on, to perhaps stay on in
00:44the party, not leave.
00:45Even though, according to our sources, as Piyush is telling us, that it is going to be perhaps a resignation
00:51that's coming.
00:52And I'm joined by Maria Shakil. She's been tracking the BJP and the government for years now.
00:57Maria, Anna Malai wants the face forever, everywhere in Tamil Nadu. Today says he wants to resign. Do you think
01:03that's happening?
01:03So he joined the BJP in 2020, went on to become the vice president of the BJP in Tamil Nadu,
01:12then became the president of the BJP in Tamil Nadu.
01:15And he made BJP in many ways acceptable to the youth of Tamil Nadu.
01:20When it was about aligning with the AIA-DMK, that's when he had voiced his concerns and had said it
01:28openly that that was not the right move.
01:31But being the karikarta of the BJP, and as is the case with most party leaders, they follow the decision
01:37that has been taken by the party leadership.
01:40And that's what Anna Malai did. But in the last few months, if you would see, he had been largely
01:45away from the political spotlight.
01:47He had chosen the path of consciousness, I would say, or even silence in many ways.
01:54Anna Malai isn't really a man of few words. He had taken on the DMK and how.
02:00But with the emergence of TVK, the BJP, which is hoping that it will be a natural alternative to the
02:09Dravidian forces of DMK and the AIA-DMK,
02:13Anna Malai's position as a former IPS officer who understands the state and understands state's politics did take a bit
02:20of a hit.
02:21So now, when he is looking at what he will be doing next, it will be rather fascinating, Pooja.
02:27Because if you look at it, Anna Malai did capture the imagination of a very young population of Tamil Nadu.
02:34It is similar to what Chief Minister right now, TVK Supremo Vijay did.
02:41Can the BJP stop him? Will they want to stop him?
02:45BJP would want to stop him.
02:46Is there an understanding between the BJP top leadership and Anna Malai?
02:50I would not rule that out.
02:52But let's be clear, both Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are extremely fond of him.
02:58Because they realise that he is certainly that young, fresh voice in the state of Tamil Nadu.
03:04Which the BJP certainly needs to get a toehold in a state that they have been really working very hard
03:10to find some resonance.
03:11Maria, but I am also wondering, elections have concluded.
03:14If Anna Malai intends to start a political or a social outfit now, will it really have any bearing?
03:19It will take time for him to set up? Does anybody really care?
03:22Or do you think this is a kind of a flex or a punch he is throwing, so it looks
03:26like I am not totally dependent on the BJP?
03:28You know, I would say, Pooja, that this is perhaps the right time.
03:32He is preparing the ground for 2029 Lok Sabha polls and also the Assembly elections which will follow.
03:38The vacuum which is there in the political space in Tamil Nadu is evident.
03:44Who is the challenger to actor Vijay right now, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu?
03:50Is it Udenadi, Stalin, who is the successor of MK Stalin, the former Chief Minister?
03:58Then who? You know, because AIA-DMK has split down the middle and a significant number of MLAs have already
04:04become part of the TVK.
04:06You know, larger government, right?
04:08So that alternative space or the space of opposition is open and that's where perhaps Anna Malai senses an opportunity.
04:17And why not? It's politics is about experimentation and politics needs a new language.
04:24And if Vijay can win, so can Anna Malai win.
04:26You never know. I mean, perhaps, you know, Anna Malai will have a very tough road ahead for him.
04:34Actor Vijay, because of his cinematic prowess, I would say, and popularity, was able to convert that popularity on screen.
04:41But that also many didn't think would happen.
04:42Yes, but then I think right now Anna Malai's only aim is to occupy the alternative or opposition space in
04:51Tamil Nadu.
04:52He is aiming for the opposition space.
04:54Very interesting. Start with opposition to eventually take on the government.
04:57Mara Shaquille with her views and what she's picking up, what's happening.
05:01Remember, if he's met Amit Shah, that clearly means he's still at a position to be able to reach out
05:06to the top leadership.
05:07It may have been a brief conversation, but that's enough to really set the tone of what Anna Malai will
05:12represent.
05:13Should he stay? How will he stay in a party where he did push himself completely to the spotlight?
05:19But what's in it for him here? Listen in to the voices coming.
05:44Annamalai is a good leader.
06:15Annamalai is a good leader.
06:20. . . . .
06:50Again, it's an internal matter of the BJP, but Arna Malay, being a former IPS officer,
06:57he knows how to play politics and how to, what you should say, insert pressure on his
07:02leadership.
07:03I think nothing is going to happen.
07:05Arna Malay may become a Rajasala member or some union minister like that.
07:11This is a kind of pressure tactics only to spoil our time.
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