Anwhar Raajhaa pledges support to BJP nominee

‘I never rebelled against the party or expressed dissenting views’

A. Anwhar Raajhaa

Sitting AIADMK MP A. Anwhar Raajhaa, who was denied ticket to seek re-election from Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency, has pledged his support to the BJP nominee Nainar Nagendran and resolved to work for his victory in the April 18 elections.

In a brief chat with The Hindu here on Friday, he said as the BJP was an ally of the AIADMK he would work for the victory of Mr Nagendran as per the alliance dharma. Incidentally, Mr Nagendran was his erstwhile party colleague as he had served in the Jayalalithaa cabinet as Minister for Electricity and Transport during 2001-06 before quitting the party and joining the BJP in August 2017.

On reports doing rounds that he was denied ticket at the instance of the BJP as he had been a strong critic of the BJP government at the Centre and vociferously opposed the Triple Talaq bill in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Anwhar Raajhaa said ‘they may be right or wrong’ but he would not comment.

Stating that he had witnessed many ups and downs in the party, the senior party leader claimed that he never rebelled against the party or expressed dissenting views at any stage. He always abided by the decisions taken by the party and he would continue to work as a true worker, he said.

He had been in the party since the time of party founder M.G. Ramachandran and never changed tracks. “I will remain in the party and work for its growth and development as long as the sun rises in east and sets in the west,” he said. Mr Anwhar Raajhaa had entered politics during his student days in the 1960s and had been in the DMK, taking part in anti-Hindi agitations before joining the AIADMK, when MGR floated the party in 1972.

He was elected to the Assembly for the first time in 2001 from Ramanathapuram Assembly constituency and served as Minister for Labour and Employment in the Jayalalithaa cabinet during 2001-03, at least twice been dropped and re-inducted. He was sidelined in the party for long before Jayalalithaa fielded him in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Presently, he is the chairman of Tamil Nadu Waqf Board.