Annamalai Resigns From BJP

Chennai: Putting at rest all speculations over his political moves, former BJP State president K Annamalai reportedly submitted his resignation from the party after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, and general secretary (organization) B L Santhosh in New Delhi with the hope of launching his own regional party.

The resignation caused a flutter in political circles as his proposed new outfit, which would be touted as secular party with a Tamil Nadu oriented approach to issues, could attract people in the prevailing political scenario in which the DMK and the AIADMK have seemingly lost their popularity among the youth as it was evident from the recent election results.

Since repeated instances of faux pas by the leaders of the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), as it has been happening after the party assumed power in Tami Nadu, could possibly impel the younger generation of voters, particularly in urban areas, to look for another alternative to not only the traditional parties, including the Dravidian majors, but also the TVK in future, Annamalai's party could find some takers, some say.

As a leader already having some following among the youth in view of his credentials as a former IPS officer, he might be able to attract the youth if he could shed his saffron colour, it is felt. So the new outfit to be launched by him could garner the support of people when they start looking for an alternative to the Dravidian majors and also the TVK in future elections, some believe.

Personally, Annamalai has been sulking for quite some time after his ouster from the State president post in April 2025 and has been sending out indications of his resentment over the treatment meted out to him in the party. He told reporters who accosted him at Chennai airport on Monday when was found travelling in a car without the BJP flag, that he would reveal his plan in a couple of days.

Apart from submitting his resignation, Annamalai is said to have given a five-page note to Nabin explaining the reasons. Among his complaints was the BJP aligning with the AIADMK, whose general secretary has been hostile towards him and is also rumoured to be one of the reasons for his ouster from the State president post.

On reaching Chennai from New Delhi, he would plunge himself into the work relating to the starting of the new party, for which the blueprint has already been prepared, people close to him said.

Already, Annamalai has tried to establish a political identity for him outside the Hindutva imagination by opposing the imposition of the three-language system in CBSE schools. So his new party could profess policies and principles that would be acceptable to the people of Tamil Nadu, though he might not completely turn against the Hindutva ideology.