Annamalai to Step Down as Tamil Nadu BJP President

Chennai: K. Annamalai has confirmed that he is stepping down as the Tamil Nadu president of the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ). According to reports, his exit is linked to the ongoing alliance negotiations between the BJP and AIADMK ahead of next year’s assembly elections in the state.

The BJP leader stated that the next state president will be chosen unanimously by party members. Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, Annamalai said, “There is no contest in Tamil Nadu BJP; we will select a leader unanimously. But I am not in the race. I am not in the BJP state leadership race.”

Sources indicate that the selection process for the new BJP state president will take place on April 7, with an official announcement expected on April 9. Telangana BJP president Kishan Reddy is set to visit Tamil Nadu on April 7 to discuss the appointment of the new state chief.

Annamalai has also conveyed his decision to step down to Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

Who Will Replace Annamalai?

Among the frontrunners for the position is BJP MLA Nainar Nagendran. A leader from Tirunelveli, Nagendran was formerly with the AIADMK before joining the BJP and belongs to the influential Thevar community.

Annamalai, who joined the BJP in August 2020, was appointed the state unit chief within just 10 months of his entry into the party.

On Sunday, Annamalai stated that the BJP’s central leadership will take an “appropriate call” regarding the structure of the alliance in the run-up to the state assembly elections next year.

Earlier last week, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to discuss alliance-related matters.