"Electoral Stunts": Tamil Nadu BJP Chief On MK Stalin's Cricket Stadium Promise

Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president K Annamalai on Sunday lashed out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for making another promise -- a state-of-the-art cricket stadium in Coimbatore.

Responding to Mr Stalin's announcement, Mr Annamalai termed the announcement an "electoral stunt" and reminded him that the DMK must first fulfill its 511 poll promises before making new ones. He said that the DMK was making this promise, sensing a defeat in the Coimbatore constituency.

"We want to remind TN CM Thiru MK Stalin that the 511 poll promises he gave in 2021 remain unfulfilled, and he first attends to those before making further promises after sensing defeat," Mr Annamalai said on X.

He said that the electoral stunts of DMK cannot deceive the youth and the sports enthusiasts in Coimbatore, as they have grown increasingly vigilant.

"DMK is a party that couldn't Construct a New Bus Terminus in Coimbatore in the last 3 years; it is today promising a stadium that should be regarded as the joke of the year and deserves slow clapping from the people of Coimbatore," added Mr Annamalai.

Notably, Mr Annamalai is contesting from the Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat and his comment came in response to the recent promise made by Mr Stalin as part of his party's (DMK) election manifesto for Lok Sabha Elections, in which he promised the construction of a state-of-the-art cricket stadium in Coimbatore.

On March 28, Mr Annamalai filed his nomination from the Coimbatore parliamentary constituency.

A Karnataka cadre IPS officer, Mr Annamalai, resigned from service in 2019 and joined the BJP in 2020. He was appointed BJP state president a year late.

Sharing a post by state Minister of Industries TRB Rajaa on X, Mr Stalin, the DMK chief, said, "As a sports and cricket enthusiast, I would like to add one more promise to our election manifesto for Elections 2024. We will take efforts to establish a state-of-the-art cricket stadium in Coimbatore, with the active participation of the sports loving people of Coimbatore. As highlighted by our Minister TRB Rajaa, this stadium aims to be Tamil Nadu's second international-standard cricket venue after Chennai's iconic MAC stadium. Our government and Sports Minister Udhay Stalin are committed to nurturing talent and enhancing sports infrastructure in Tamil Nadu."

Minister TRB Rajaa highlighted in his post that Coimbatore and the state of Tamil Nadu need a major boost in sports infrastructure.

"Dreaming Big for Tamil Nadu Cricket! In the past few days, as we campaigned across Coimbatore, we've met many young people with deep passion for sports. Coimbatore's enthusiasm for varied sports, including, Athletics, Shooting, Car Racing, Football, Skating, Equestrian sports amongst others and especially cricket, is unmatched. It is home to the owners of 3 TNPL teams, and many of the growing national cricket stars are from Western Tamil Nadu," he said.

Mr Rajaa said that this stadium will redefine cricketing standards globally by being the most sustainably built state-of-the-art stadium in the world.

"It could be a net zero stadium, which will not only boost our local cricket ecosystem, to which we will add small turf grounds, but also serve as a beacon of green innovation, water-conservation and climate-consciousness We respectfully request our Honourable Chief Minister MK Stalin avargal to bring this landmark sports infra to life, setting a new global benchmark and nurturing our rich sports talent ," he added.

He also said that Coimbatore and all of Tamil Nadu need a major boost in sports infrastructure.

"That's exactly what our Honourable Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Thiru Udhay Stalin has been building up over the past year ! Given the amazing talents that are available in and around Kovai and the genuine need for another World-class Cricket Stadium in TN, I request the Honourable Chief Minister Thiru MK Stalin avargal to establish a brand new world-class multipurpose Coimbatore International Cricket Stadium or CICS," he added.

Coimbatore is one of the key constituencies in Tamil Nadu. The DMK has fielded Ganapathi P Kumar while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has nominated Singai Ramachandran to contest from Coimbatore.

All 39 seats of Tamil Nadu will poll in the first phase of the general elections on April 19 and the counting of votes, along with those from other phases, has been scheduled for June 4.

In 2019, the DMK swept the Lok Sabha polls in the state, winning 23 Lok Sabha seats and bagging the lion's share of the total votes polled, at 33.2 per cent.

Its ruling ally, Congress, bagged 8 seats, mining 12.9 per cent of the total votes polled, while the CPI won two seats. CPI (M) and IUML won one seat each while the remaining two seats went to independents.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)