BJP’s Annamalai Trails DMK’s Rajkumar in Coimbatore

Coimbatore: Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai is trailing Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Ganapathy Rajkumar P in the state’s Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency, as per Election Commission data. Rajkumar leads by 33,760 votes according to the latest update at 3:45 PM.

The Tamil Nadu polls witnessed a historic three-way contest this year, with the ideological clash between Periyarist principles of social justice and equality and the BJP’s Hindutva ideology. The state, which has traditionally oscillated between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, saw significant shifts in alliances. The AIADMK, led by Edappadi Palaniswami, formed an alliance with three regional parties after parting ways with the BJP-led NDA in 2023.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP failed to secure any seats in Tamil Nadu, while the DMK emerged as the dominant force with 24 seats. The AIADMK managed to secure one seat. This year, the BJP faced tough competition in Coimbatore, highlighting the intense political landscape of the state.

The polling in Tamil Nadu was conducted in the first phase between April 19 and June 1, covering all 39 Lok Sabha constituencies.