CHENNAI: Former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan was on Tuesday unanimously elected president of the BJP’s State unit.
Rajya Sabha MP and election observer Balbir Punj announced Radhakrishnan’s election at the party’s State general council meeting held at a marriage hall in Chromepet. Radhakrishnan was a Union minister of State in the Vajpayee government in 1999 after he had won the Lok Sabha seat in Nagercoil.
The outgoing State chief L Ganesan, who had undergone a bypass surgery recently, handed over the charge to Radhakrishnan, who will remain at the helm for the next three years.
Radhakrishnan told the reporters during the function that he would strive for strengthening the party in the State to win seats in the Assembly elections.
He added that he would also take steps to ensure that other parties in the State realise the importance of aligning with the BJP in future.
He said that BJP will continue to strive for welfare of Tamils in the Tamil Nadu as well as in Sri Lanka, Malaysia.
The 26 newly elected district presidents were introduced to the members present at the council meeting. The names of 39 national council members were also announced. The BJP State council adopted a number of resolutions, including a demand to scrap the Marine Fisheries (Regulation) Act and rejection of the Justice Ranganath Mishra Committee’s recommendations that reservations be provided on the basis of religion.
The council urged the State government to take steps to improve law and order, implement uniform education system and checking the rise in the price of yarn. It urged the Centre to make voting compulsory in Parliament and Assembly elections.