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Considered one of the main reasons behind the AIADMK and BJP falling apart in 2023, K Annamalai may step down as BJP Tamil Nadu president as alliance talks between the parties gather pace. But, say BJP sources, it won’t be as “punishment” – rather due to caste equations.
Should the parties fight the 2026 state elections together, the BJP does not want the face of both it and the AIADMK to be a Gounder. Like Annamalai, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami belongs to the powerful backward community as well as the same western Kongu region (Gounders are dominant here).
BJP sources said that Annamalai had been conveyed the same at a meeting he held with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, soon after Shah met Palaniswami – in the first formal steps by the BJP and AIADMK towards a reunion.
The young Annamalai, whose aggressive stance on issues has given the BJP a visibility in Tamil Nadu – if not political success so far – was told that “Delhi sees a bright future for him”. In turn, the leadership said, it expected Annamalai to trust and follow the party strategy.
Annamalai is believed to have expressed complete loyalty to the party. “He conveyed that he doesn’t have any second thoughts regarding his commitment to the party, and is even ready to work as a mere cadre,” a senior BJP leader said.
Another leader said: “Whether Annamalai exits from the state president’s post or not, he remains a key figure in the party’s long-term strategy for Tamil Nadu. Whether he takes on a national role or a different assignment in the state remains to be seen.”’
As per sources, the frontrunner to replace Annamalai as Tamil Nadu BJP chief is BJP MLA Nainar Nagendran, a popular leader from Tirunelveli who was earlier in the AIADMK, and who belongs to the influential Thevar community. Under J Jayalalithaa, the Most Backward Class community had a strong hold on the AIADMK via the supremo’s aide V K Sasikala, also a Thevar.
A senior BJP leader said that Annamalai’s likely exit will be a recalibration, “not to be considered a demotion”. “The BJP wants to consolidate its hold beyond western Tamil Nadu. Bringing in a Thevar leader like Nagendran could help expand its influence in the southern districts and beyond, where the AIADMK-BJP alliance will need to counter the DMK’s stronghold,” said a leader, adding that Shah’s “social engineering strategies” had seen “remarkable” progress.
Speaking to the media in Coimbatore Sunday, Annamalai refused to take any questions on the AIADMK-BJP alliance, saying: “Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke about it recently at a function. You can take that as the final view (of the party).”
He instead spoke about his role in giving the BJP high command “a detailed political study of Tamil Nadu”. “As a cadre and leader, I have done a micro analysis and presented the same to the party’s national leaders, with proof, on the condition of the state unit now and how it should go forward,” he said.
Explaining Tamil Nadu’s electoral dynamics, via five zones, Annamalai said the BJP had seen significant growth in the western region (54 seats) and southern districts (60 seats). To win 150 seats, a party must sweep three zones; to secure 180-190 seats, it must dominate four zones.
Annamalai argued that the BJP already had an upper hand over the AIADMK in the entire southern region, and that the Dravidian party could not ignore the BJP in crucial pockets in the Western region too.
His only goal was the BJP’s long-term growth in the state, Annamalai said. “I have always been clear… I did not come to politics for power, I came to make a change in Tamil Nadu politics.”
On Palaniswami’s meeting with Shah, Annamalai said: “There was nothing wrong in it. There is no need for BJP leaders to meet any party leader discreetly.”
