We The Leaders chief Annamalai on Thursday said the organisation will contest Tamil Nadu’s local body elections whenever they are held, and will not enter into alliances with any party.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the “APJ Abdul Kalam Aram, Politics and Centre” at PSG iTech auditorium in Neelambur, Coimbatore. The event featured addresses by the group’s CEO Prabhakaran, Roots Industries chairman Ramasamy, Abdul Kalam’s family member Sheikh Saleem, former town panchayat chairperson Malathi, and 108-year-old Lieutenant Madhavan, who served in the Netaji force.
A 100-kg cloth-woven book showcasing events attended by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was released on stage. Annamalai said the centre was launched with the family’s consent to help realise Kalam’s vision, noting that the organisation has carried out activities such as sapling planting and cleanliness drives, including planting 14 lakh saplings.
He said the organisation has 21 lakh members and aims to train one lakh people by October 2027. He also said river-cleaning work has been carried out for seven consecutive weeks on the Vaigai, Palani Shanmuga and Thamirabarani rivers, with a plan to clean 175 km of rivers within a year; the newly opened centre has begun training 100 people in its first phase.
Speaking to reporters, Annamalai said the group would contest as an organisation even if it is not a political party, and that change must begin from local bodies and extend up to Assembly elections. He added that training is being provided to people of all ages, including those without political experience, focusing on leadership and public life. He also criticised the lack of battery infrastructure to store wind and solar power, said he would speak about governance after a year, flagged public inconvenience due to traffic disruptions during actor Vijay’s visits, called for simpler security practices with the Chief Minister setting an example, cited by-elections in Dharapuram and Maduranthakam as instances of “moneyless” polls, and urged that permissions be granted for protests and demonstrations.
