Booth committees during elections will become defunct soon, says Annamalai

The BJP State president said the party needed cadre who could communicate the policies of the Centre to the voters, and counter what he called the “false narrative”

Tamil Nadu State BJP president K. Annamalai on Wednesday contended that traditional poll booth committees, which are considered the most crucial organ of every political party during elections, will go defunct in the coming years. The BJP has instead appointed one person for every 25 families in an effort to reach out to the voters.

The inability of the BJP to set up booth committees in every constituency is largely seen as the reason why the party has struggled to make a mark in elections in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking at the ‘Thalaiva’, a three-day training program on political leadership and strategy, he reiterated that the BJP needs cadres who can communicate the policies of the Centre to the voters and counter what he called the “false narrative”.

“We need cadres who can speak politics and who can debate what the National Education Policy is. It is enough to have five persons in the booth instead of having 25 who communicate a wrong message to the voters. The Booth committee members of the DMK and AIADMK do not speak ideology to the voters. Their role is to keep their vote bank intact. We operate on a different philosophy,” he claimed.

According to him, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will prove that Tamil Nadu will move beyond traditional booth committees. He was also candid about how he initially refused to contest in the State Assembly elections in 2021, but did so only on the insistence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The event was organised by former AIADMK functionary ‘Aspire’ K Swaminathan.