Experiment aborted too soon? How 'sidelined' Annamalai drifted away from BJP in Tamil Nadu

NEW DELHI: Annamalai Kuppusamy (K Annamalai), who not so long ago was BJP’s biggest face, and also its biggest hope in Tamil Nadu, has quit the party. The former IPS officer, who joined BJP in 2020 and made the party visible in the state like never before, is all set to form his own “regional outfit” as he feels that being part of a national party “limits his growth.”

Annamalai is in Delhi and, according to reports, has thanked all his party bosses including Amit Shah while submitting his resignation, though a formal announcement is yet to be made. Some in the BJP remain hopeful of a U-turn, but sources close to Annamalai claim that the former IPS officer has moved on and wants to put his “own plans into action.”

Annamalai has also submitted a detailed report analysing what went wrong for the BJP in the 2026 elections and has reportedly told the BJP top brass how he was "sidelined" in the party. While the formal parting of ways is happening now, the ground for this separation was laid in the run up to the 2026 assembly elections when BJP abandoned Annamalai’s vision for the party in Tamil Nadu.





So, what went wrong?

To understand this, let’s rewind and look at Annamalai’s spectacular rise in the BJP.

The BJP, which had for years struggled to find its space and relevance in Tamil Nadu politics, saw a ray of hope in Annamalai. The former IPS officer who had quit his job in May 2019 and was working for social welfare through his NGO “We the Leader Foundation” wanted to enter politics to “bring a change in the system.” Interestingly, BJP was not the first choice of Annamalai as he wanted to start his political innings with Rajinikanth. But when the superstar’s political plans failed, Annamalai opted for BJP - a party he said “had nationalist vision and a merit-based platform.”

Annamalai joined the BJP in 2020. Though he lost the 2021 assembly election from Aravakuruchi constituency, he helped the BJP win 2 seats in the state’s western region.

The BJP was quick to realise Annamalai’s potential and within a year made him the state party chief. Once firmly in the saddle, Annamalai led his ‘En Mann En Makkal’ (My Land, My People) padayatra across Tamil Nadu in 2023 taking BJP’s popularity to a new high. Such was the optimism and hope riding on this exercise that it was graced by BJP’s top national leadership. While Amit Shah inaugurated the 200-day padayatra that covered all 234 assembly constituencies in the state, Prime Minister Narenadra Modi ended it with a huge public address in February 2024.

The hype and hope raised by Annamalai’s padayatra perhaps convinced the BJP to part ways with its ally the AIADMK and opt for a solo contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu. The highlight of Annamalai’s political aggression was his sharp and vocal criticism of Dravidian politics and its icons. Despite an alliance with AIADMK, he did not spare even their leaders - a factor that played a key role in the eventual break-up between the allies.

Annamalai’s padayatra propelled the BJP’s vote share in Tamil Nadu to a record high of 11.38% in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This was a huge jump from the 3.62% figure that the party had managed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But unfortunately, the increase in votes did not translate into seats and the BJP could not open its account for a second consecutive LS election. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won 1 seat with a vote share of 5.56%.

This possibly led the BJP to rethink about its ties with the AIADMK and despite Annamalai’s very strong objections - the alliance was revived in the run up to the 2026 assembly elections in the state. And that marked the sidelining of the former IPS officer who was subsequently eased out from the state BJP chief post to placate the party’s Dravidian ally.

The 2026 assembly elections saw the AIADMK dictate terms to the BJP. The regional party ensured that Annamalai was not just removed as state BJP chief but also had no say in deciding the candidates for the assembly contest. Annamalai stayed away and did not contest the 2026 assembly elections. Annamalai’s complete dominance of 2023 had turned into near complete isolation in 2026. However, on May 4, when the results were announced, Annamalai was vindicated and the BJP’s alliance experiment with AIADMK failed miserably. The saffron party ended up winning just one seat in the assembly. But the former state chief still kept quiet.

Annamalai’s first voice of dissent

When Annamalai, for the first time in six years, openly targeted the Union education ministry over its notification making three languages compulsory for class IX students, it was the first visible sign of an impending revolt and led to speculations about his possible exit from the party.

On May 15, the CBSE issued a notification to all affiliated schools introducing a third compulsory language for class IX students from the current academic year, advancing a deadline that was previously set for 2029-30.
Responding to this move, Annamalai wrote on X: "This has come as a shock to many parents, especially those from Tamil Nadu, as their children have already selected a language of choice in class VI. The revised notification now mandates that class IX students learn three languages, two of which must be native to India, with effect from July 1, 2026. Expecting a class IX student to learn a new language at such short notice will only pressurise children and affect their overall learning outcomes."

The fact that he chose to go public with his differences with the BJP on the language policy, which has always been a sensitive issue in Tamil Nadu, was an indication that he wanted to chart his own course.
While Annamalai may not have openly rebelled, his resignation move does not come as a surprise. After all, his efforts to ensure a separate identity for the BJP in Tamil Nadu was washed away when the Delhi leadership pushed for the AIADMK alliance in the 2026 assembly elections.


An experiment aborted too soon?

For the BJP, Annamalai’s exit would mean starting from scratch in Tamil Nadu. While Annamalai was not heading the state BJP in either of the two assembly elections overlapping with his tenure, his active presence had energised the party. Annamalai was made BJP Tamil Nadu chief after the 2021 assembly elections in which the BJP had won 4 seats with a vote share of 2.62%. He quit as state chief in 2025, a year before the 2026 assembly elections, in which the party’s tally slipped to 1 with a marginal increase in vote share at 2.99%. The BJP would be wary of the possible exodus of local leaders and also cadres from the party with the exit of Annamalai.

The fact that people of Tamil Nadu voted overwhelmingly for debutant politician Vijay and his party TVK shows that there was space for a new experiment in Tamil Nadu. The BJP did embark on that path with Annamalai but abandoned it midway. While Annamalai does not come anywhere close to Vijay’s fan following in the state, the fact is that the former IPS officer who was often referred to as “Singham” did enjoy decent popularity amongst the youth of the state. Little wonder, the “what if” question would continue to haunt both the BJP and Annamalai.

The BJP was perhaps caught between a rock and a hard place: persisting with its Annamalai experiment or joining hands with its old ally, the AIADMK, to build a broader anti-DMK front. In the end it opted for its old ally, leaving Annamalai with little option but to call it quits. Ironically, the very aggression that made him popular with and within the BJP became the reason for his exit from the party.