How Nainar won the race for BJP chief

Chennai: Nainar Nagenthran who will be the 13th president of the Tamil Nadu BJP has friends across parties and castes and a strong grassroots connection.
"I filed nomination papers as per the advice of my party," Nagenthran told reporters in Chennai. The official announcement of the new president is scheduled for Saturday evening at a function at Vanagaram in Chennai.
The incumbent president K Annamalai apparently expressed his unwillingness to continue as state president when the national leadership recently decided to revive the alliance with AIADMK.
Another version is that the AIADMK demanded that he be removed, though both parties have officially denied this. Annamalai apparently suggested Nagenthran, who has been minister in an AIADMK govt, as his successor, given his record of public service, administrative experience, and leadership skills, multiple sources told TOI.
Nagenthran honed his political acumen under the mentorship of veteran V Karuppasamy Pandian of Tirunelveli, who died recently. Nagenthran joined the BJP in 2017 following conflicts in AIADMK after the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The following year, he made national headlines for sending death threats to lyricist Vairamuthu over controversial remarks about Hindu Goddess Andal. A senior leader explained BJP's choice of Nagenthran for the post:
"When the party looked for an alternative, he fit the bill given his caste, the influential Mukkulathor community of the south". And given the BJP has renewed ties with AIADMK, Nagenthran, minister in the Jayalalithaa and Panneerselvam cabinets from 2001-2006, emerged as a suitable choice. The BJP waived its usual bylaws regarding eligibility for the state president position to facilitate Nagenthran's appointment.
The standard requirement of three terms as an active member and 10 years as a primary member was relaxed. This relaxation bypassed other potential candidates -- Pon Radhakrishnan, H Raja, Tamilisai Soundararajan, and Vanathi Srinivasan.
Incidentally, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami's convoy started moving from his Greenways Road residence here minutes after the "affable" Nagenthran was elected unopposed, replacing Annamalai, whose actions were perceived as antagonistic to the AIADMK.
Kamalalayam, the BJP headquarters, witnessed some tense moments during the nomination process on Friday when Annamalai's name plate outside his office was blackened by miscreants.
Later, talking to reporters Nagenthran said BJP had seen massive growth during Annamalai's tenure as party president.
"His support will be of huge help to help the party grow," he said, waving a pen gifted by Annamalai to sign his nomination. "This shows his generosity (perunthanmai)."