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According to sources close to the leader, Annamalai is keen to ensure that his departure remains “amicable” and does not trigger a public confrontation with the party leadership
Former Tamil Nadu BJP leader K Annamalai (PTI Image)
Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai is likely to announce his exit from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, sources familiar with the development have told News18.
Sources close to Annamalai said the former IPS officer, who will take the 4.30pm flight to Delhi on Monday, believes Tamil Nadu’s political landscape has undergone a fundamental shift following the emergence of Vijay as a major political force. “There is no leader to fight Vijay today. The Dravidian era is over. Politics centred on language issues alone will no longer work. The politics of the state has changed,” a source aware of the discussions said.
According to sources close to the leader, Annamalai is keen to ensure that his departure remains “amicable” and does not trigger a public confrontation with the party leadership.
The development comes almost a year after Annamalai was replaced as the Tamil Nadu BJP chief amid efforts by the party’s national leadership to recalibrate its strategy in the state ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. Political observers had viewed his removal as part of a broader attempt to smoothen relations with regional allies and rethink the BJP’s approach in a state long dominated by Dravidian parties.
Sources also told News18 that Annamalai is likely to launch a people’s movement, and all eyes are on whether that will be converted into a party at a later stage.
The development marks a significant shift for a leader who was once projected as the BJP’s most prominent face in Tamil Nadu and tasked with expanding the party’s footprint in a state where it has historically struggled to gain electoral relevance.
His confrontational style had created growing friction with the AIADMK, historically the BJP’s most important ally in Tamil Nadu. Relations deteriorated after Annamalai repeatedly criticised AIADMK leaders and even commented on party icons such as J Jayalalithaa. The tensions eventually contributed to the breakdown of the BJP-AIADMK alliance in 2023.
This is where the BJP top brass stepped in. In 2025, Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed AIADMK back into the NDA fold, and Annamalai was replaced as state BJP chief by Nainar Nagendran. He also did not contest the 2026 assembly election.
Annamalai’s recent positions had also fuelled speculation about differences with the BJP’s central line. In recent days, he publicly questioned the implementation of the CBSE three-language policy, a stance seen by many as a rare divergence from the party’s national position.
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