Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai is a taller part of the party. BJP national president Nitin Nabin accepted his resignation as the party’s primary membership on Friday, ending days of speculation over the leader’s political future. Hours after the announcement, Annamalai revealed the reason for his step down and what is in store for him next.
Annamalai announced a new political movement that would later evolve into a party that would contest the next Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, scheduled to be held in five years. He said that the southern state wants change, and stressed that his party can provide that.
“Our views are incompatible,” Annamalai tells the BJP.
Listing his reasons for quitting the BJP, Annamalai said that he had informed the leadership of his decision in December last year, but was asked to wait till the Assembly elections in April-May 2026 were over.
“It has been a big struggle whether you are a BJP member or a Tamil. I told the party on December 4, 2025 that I will resign. The party asked me to finish the elections and then leave,” Annamalai said, according to news agency ANI.
Annamalai’s connection to his Tamil roots was also emphasized in the resignation letter he sent to the BJP leadership on June 2.
“As a nationalist deeply rooted in regional aspirations, I take great pride in the richness of my language, the diversity of my culture and the unique heritage of my region. I firmly believe that a strong and united India is built on the strength, dignity and aspirations of its many regions and communities,” he wrote.
He also confirmed how he had expressed his “differences” with the leadership over the past 18 months, and said he did not believe his views aligned with the party anymore.
“I do not want to burden the high command further with my constant thoughts on the way forward for a growth-oriented and culturally rooted policy in Tamil Nadu,” he wrote.
“National parties have never spoken the language that TN understands”
Recalling his association with the BJP so far, Annamalai thanked the party for accepting and trusting him.
However, he also pointed out that the people of Tamil Nadu always strive for change, which sometimes arrives, but never stops.
“National parties have never spoken the language that people in Tamil Nadu understand. They have tried to change this belief and have also achieved reasonable success despite multiple hurdles, barriers and obstructions from within and without,” Annamalai said.
His remarks come at a time when the BJP recently defeated the regional party TMC in Bengal and hopes to make its own mark in Punjab early next year. But in Tamil Nadu, the two national parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, have performed poorly for decades. The BJP won just one seat in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections this time, three seats down from last time, and did not win any seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Annamalai, also known as ‘Singham’ – a name inspired by the title of a cop film – in Tamil Nadu due to his background in the police service, has now appealed to people to support his political movement, and that a new party is needed in Tamil Nadu.
“We need to practice common man politics in the future. We need to bring together skilled people to join our political movement, which will become a political party in the coming days and will strive to bring Tamil Nadu to the forefront,” the leader said in a video message.
Kuppusamy Annamalai, a former IPS officer, became a major icon for the BJP in Tamil Nadu after being nominated in the 2021 elections. Despite losing the election, he was appointed as the president of the Tamil Nadu BJP, and held the position for three years, before stepping down and being replaced by Nainar Nagendran. One of his major controversies was the BJP allying itself with the AIADMK and essentially playing a secondary role.
