Amid speculation that he may soon quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and launch his own political party, K.K. Annamalai on Monday reporters waiting. “Please wait. We will sit and talk in two days,” he said before leaving for Delhi to meet BJP leader Nitin Nabin.
Annamalai, who was once the face of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, has largely kept a low profile since Nainar Nagendran replaced him as the party’s state president. Rumors about his future in the party began circulating soon after the leadership change, and intensified after the BJP’s poor performance in the recently concluded elections, in which it managed to win just one seat.
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The buzz gained more momentum after Annamalai left for Delhi on Monday. According to an NDTV report, an unnamed BJP leader said: “Annamalai feels there is no opportunity or future for him in the BJP.”
The same report said that the political outfit he is said to be planning may contest the upcoming Assembly by-elections in Tamil Nadu. There are likely to be at least five such by-polls soon as CM Vijay has left one of his two seats and four MLAs from the AIADMK have resigned.
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Speculation about a possible split has also fueled Annamalai’s criticism of CBSE’s decision to implement the three-language policy for Class IX students from the current academic year.
He urged the board to withdraw the notification, a move seen by some observers as a departure from the BJP-led Centre’s stance.
The former IPS officer, who played a key role in bringing together TTV Dhinakaran and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam ahead of the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, has been keeping a low profile ever since the BJP leadership replaced him with Nagendran and revived its alliance with the AIADMK for the 2026 Assembly elections.
While BJP workers in Coimbatore district were expecting him to contest the 2026 Lok Sabha elections, Annamalai later clarified that he would not participate in the electoral fray.
(With inputs from PTI)
