Buzz in Tamil Nadu Politics: BJP leader Annamalai Set To Leave The Party?

Weeks after politics in Tamil Nadu saw the established Dravidian duopoly making way for the Vijay-led TVK, the state’s politics is again making headlines. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Annamalai Kuppusamy, known as K. Annamalai is all set to leave the saffron party with media reports suggesting that the IPS-turned-politician could launch his own political outfit.

Leaving Chennai for Delhi, Annamalai told reporters "Please wait. We will sit down and talk in two days."

In Delhi, he is expected to hand over his resignation to BJP’s chief Nitin Nabin on June 2nd.

Annamalai joined the BJP in 2020 after leaving his IPS posting in Karnataka for active politics. Interestingly, he was appointed BJP’s state vice-president straightaway and later the party's state chief.

Annamalai is credited with raising the political visibility of the BJP in Dravidian-dominated polity with aggressive and extensive grassroot campaigns and social media outreach. The party got a single seat in the recent state elections which saw Annamalai not contesting even though he was much sought after for campaigning.

Political commentators trace a rift with the BJP joining AIADMK for the assembly elections that led to a reshuffle in which Annamalai was replaced as state chief. Annamalai, it is said, favoured the BJP going it alone in the elections.

Recently, Annamalai criticised the three-language formula for CBSE students furthering speculations of his growing distance from the BJP. According to an Indian Express report, senior BJP leaders from the state lament that Annamalai was not given enough autonomy and visibility by the party.

Another source, cited by NDTV, reveals that Annamalai could not see any opportunity and future in the party. He is reported to have sought an elongated tenure with authority and autonomy in the state from the party high command.

On his future plans, reports highlight that his non-profit leadership initiative called "We The Leaders" can serve as Annamalai’s entry point into a mass movement that may later transform into a political platform.