Former IPS officer Kuppusamy Annamalai joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday, asserting that he will work to bring the "nationalist spirit" to Tamil Nadu.
Joining the BJP at its national headquarters, Annamalai heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he embodies a leader's qualities of fearlessness, courage, knowledge and giving spirit.
"I will work to strengthen what the BJP stands for and to bring that nationalist spirit to the state of Tamil Nadu," the 36-year-old former police officer, who has been involved in social work since quitting the IPS, told reporters.
BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao, who is his party's in-charge for the state, said the party has been attracting people from different segments into its fold in the state, which has been traditionally dominated by the two Dravidian parties, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
He said it is very important to strengthen nationalist movement in Tamil Nadu, which will go to the assembly polls in the first half of the next year.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief L Murugan was also present at the joining ceremony.
Annamalai later met BJP national president J P Nadda.
Nadda had on Monday assailed the opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu, accusing it of being a "sheltering ground for people not working in the interest of the nation" and "always inciting feelings against the national spirit."
