Will He, Won't He? Guess On

The political candidate who understands TV—whatever his party, goals, or beliefs—can gain power unknown in history," said media theorist Marshall McLuhan in 1969.

- PON VASANTH BA

It's unclear whether K Annamalai, the 40-year-old Tamil Nadu BJP president once trolled for claiming to have devoured 20,000 books, has studied McLuhan.

However, he seems to have imbibed this idea perfectly, as he dominates the news cycle yet again by keeping speculation alive about his continuation as state president.

Political observers may debate the BJP's empirical growth in Tamil Nadu since Annamalai joined the party in August 2020 and became its state president 10 months later. Many cadres and supporters finally got a 'leader', not just a 'state president', as a senior party leader puts it.

With tireless engagement with the media, he often sidelined the AIADMK, which ruled the state for three decades positioning the BJP as the DMK's chief rival.

His larger-than-life image was evident during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when media from north India descended en masse on Coimbatore, his constituency. Though he lost to the DMK, Annamalai relegated the AIADMK to a distant third in the constituency, once considered its stronghold.