Dynastic politics is not about giving tickets to children of political leaders: Annamalai

Bengaluru: Former IPS officer and BJP’s co-in-charge of elections in Karnataka, K. Annamalai, in a special interview with Udayavani, shed light on various important issues and provided insights into BJP’s approach to politics and governance in Karnataka. Annamalai spoke about various issues including the party’s stance on family and dynasty politics, ticket allocation, and the upcoming state Assembly elections.

Annamalai, who is known for his straightforward opinions, defended the idea of giving tickets to children of persons with a political background or the wives after their husbands. He clarified that giving tickets to children after their father is not ‘dynasty politics’, but oftentimes a gesture of fulfilling the wishes of the party activists.

“The argument that the ticket should be denied to a person for the sole reason that he is the relative of an MLA is not correct. For example, we have given a ticket to Yediyurappa’s son Vijayendra. It was also the demand of the people of Shikaripura that he should come into active politics. Vijayendra is our party worker. He was not given a party ticket last time. Vijayendra has competently handled all the responsibilities given by the party. Hence it does not come under the ambit of family politics,” he said.

“Dynasty politics is when only one family controls an entire party or administrative system. Such is the situation in Congress and JDS. But BJP has not allowed it. I am also an ordinary worker. BJP has allowed many ordinary workers to rise,” he added.

During the interview, Annamalai also spoke about the party’s approach to social justice and equality in ticket allocation. He emphasized that all communities have been given equal opportunity and caste-based discrimination is not acceptable. He further claimed that by the party’s move to field new faces and youth, winning chances have “increased by 25%.”

Annamalai defined the double-engine government as one where there are parties with single ideological background or a single party at the center and the state. He cited the achievements of the Jal Jeevan Mission, which saw a significant increase in beneficiaries after the BJP government came to power in Karnataka, as an example of the benefits of having a ‘double engine government’.

Annamalai expressed confidence that BJP will come to power in the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka. He stated that the party’s target is to win at least 150 seats out of the total 224 seats.

When asked about his transition from being the popular, powerful IPS officer in the state into a politician, Annamalai responded by stating that he believes in the “power of service.”  “In a democratic system, leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi can emerge only once a century. I am doing politics under his guidance. I don’t think I made a mistake,” he said.