The woman was sexually assaulted in the campus of the premier technical varsity. (Representational)

The BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief, K Annamalai, set himself a goal Thursday – to ensure Chief Minister MK Stalin and the ruling DMK are removed from power – and made a dramatic promise to that effect, declaring “I will whip myself six times” and “I will not wear footwear (till the DMK is defeated)”.

Mr Annamalai, who led his party’s unsuccessful charge in the April-June federal election, also announced protests against the state spurred by the sexual assault of a college student at Chennai’s Anna University this week.

Both the BJP and the DMK’s arch-rival, the AIADMK, have slammed Mr Stalin’s administration, while the government called out attempts to politicise the incident.

“Starting tomorrow (Friday), I will hold a protest in front of my house… where I will whip myself six times. And starting from tomorrow, I will fast for 48 days and appeal to the six-armed Murugan (another name for the Hindu god of war),” the BJP leader told reports this evening.

“From tomorrow, until the DMK is removed from power, I will not wear sandals…” he said; a video shared by news agency ANI showed him addressing the press with a pair of shoes in his right hand.

#WATCH | During a press conference, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai removed his shoe and said, “From tomorrow onwards until the DMK is removed from power, I will not wear any footwear…”

Tomorrow, K Annamalai will protest against how the government handled the Anna… https://t.co/Jir02WFrOx pic.twitter.com/aayn33R6LG

— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2024

On Wednesday Mr Annamalai ripped into the Tamil Nadu government, declaring the state had become a “breeding ground of unlawful activities” and a “haven for criminals” under the DMK.

READ | DMK vs Opposition After Student Sexually Assaulted At Anna University

“Women don’t feel safe in the state anymore as the police are kept busy by the ruling administration to silence the opposition. BJP Tamil Nadu has to call for a protest for the police to act if the criminal is a functionary of DMK. This is the dire state of law and order in the state,” he said in a post on X.

READ | BJP Shares Sex Assault Accused’s Photo With U Stalin, DMK Replies

A 37-year-old man, who runs a roadside biryani stall has been arrested for the Anna University student’s harrowing experience on campus, which included her male friend being thrashed.

The BJP leader was vocal and vehement ahead of the election for Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats, but the party flopped. It failed to win a single seat. The DMK, and its allies, including the Congress, in fact, completed a clean sweep, winning all 39 in Tamil Nadu and also Puducherry’s sole seat.

Mr Annamalai contested the Coimbatore seat and was thumped by the DMK’s Ganpathy Rajkumar by nearly 1.2 lakh votes. Former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, another high-profile BJP candidate, lost Chennai (South) to the DMK’s Thamizhachi Thangapandian by 2.2 lakh votes.