L. Murugan resigned as Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP.
He stepped down to focus on strengthening Tamil Nadu's BJP.
His resignation fueled speculation about an upcoming cabinet reshuffle.
Union Minister of State L Murugan resigned from his ministry and the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. In a letter written to the Prime Minister, he said that he wants to work dedicatedly for the Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a letter sared on his X account, Murugan, state minister for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relieve him of his duties.
In his post, he writes, “Now, I wish to return to the grassroots, stand with our karyakartas and dedicate myself full-time to strengthening the BJP in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Nation First. Party Next. Self Last.”
He wrote, “It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve Bharat Mata and Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri narendramodi Ji.”
“From the son of daily wage labourers to serving in the Union Council of Ministers under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri narendramodi Ji has been the greatest privilege of my life,” he further said.
The latest move from Murugan has fueled speculation about an upcoming cabinet reshuffle. Earlier in June and July, Union ministers George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu also resigned, respectively.
L Murugan is a former chief of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in 2024, and his term in Parliament was set to last until 2030.
Born to Telugu-speaking parents in Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal district, he belongs to the Arunthathiyar community and got his start in politics with the student group ABVP.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he ran for Parliament from the Nilgiris constituency but lost to DMK candidate A. Raja by a margin of 240,585 votes. Murugan took charge of the Tamil Nadu BJP in 2020 before being appointed to the central Cabinet in July 2021.
He has also served as vice-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. He joined the Union Council of Ministers in July 2021. K. Annamalai later succeeded him as the state party chief.
