Annamalai to step down as Tamil Nadu BJP chief? Alliance buzz with AIADMK heats up ahead of assembly polls

K Annamalai may step down as Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu president amid talks of a BJP-AIADMK alliance for next year’s assembly elections in the state.

The decision is being made considering caste equations in the poll-bound state where the BJP has been trying to increase its footprint, a report in the Indian Express said. Annamalai is considered one of the main reasons behind the AIADMK and BJP falling apart in 2023.

The Indian Express report said the BJP does not want to have faces of both ally partners from the same Gounder community. Both Annamalai and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief Edappadi K Palaniswami belong to the powerful backward community. Both come from the same western Kongu region of Tamil Nadu where Gounders are dominant.

Annamalai has been conveyed the BJP decision at a meeting he held with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, the Indian Express said quoting sources. The meeting was held soon after Shah met Palaniswami in the national capital. Annamalai has been told that “Delhi sees a bright future for him,” the report 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,” a BJP leader told the Indian Express.

Who will replace Annamalai?

Among the frontrunners to replace Annamalai as Tamil Nadu BJP chief is party MLA Nainar Nagendran, a popular leader from Tirunelveli. Nagendran was earlier in the AIADMK and belongs to the influential Thevar community.

“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,” another leader said.

Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer (2011 Batch, Karnataka), Annamalai joined the BJP in August 2020. He was made state unit chief within 10 months of joining the party.

Annamalai said on Sunday the party’s central leadership will take an ‘appropriate call’ on the shape and form of the alliance to be forged in the run up to the state assembly polls next year.

Annamalai, whose controversial statements were considered a reason for AIADMK leaving the BJP-led NDA in 2024, clearly seems to have changed tracks on the alliance ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections.

Last week, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

Why Did AIADMK exit NDA?

Before the Delhi visit of EPS, there have been discussions between AIADMK and BJP leaders back in Tamil Nadu. The development comes ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

The AIADMK had aligned with the BJP following supremo J Jayalalithaa’s demise in 2016. But after DMK’s sweep of the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, EPS pulled away from the alliance in 2023. Annamalai’s controversial comments further strained relations, with AIADMK demanding his apology or replacement.

The party cited persistent insults and defamatory remarks by the BJP’s Tamil Nadu leadership, particularly targeting AIADMK icons such as CN Annadurai, MG Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa, as key reasons for severing ties.

The party has reportedly put some conditions on the alliance. The party wants the BJP to form a high-powered steering committee to oversee coordination between the parties. The authority would outrank Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai, reports said.

Now, as reports suggest, the AIADMK, has no other option. but to align with the BJP if it wants to exist in the state’s political landscape. Also, actor Vijay launching his own party – Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is also one of the factors driving AIDMK’s change in heart.