Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 5 : Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Friday resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and announced the launch of a new political movement that will contest the next Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Tamil Nadu BJP Vice President Karu Nagaraajan also resigned from the party and joined K Annamalai's political movement.
Annamalai said his views on the state's political direction no longer aligned with those of the party leadership.
He said he had informed the party about his decision earlier but was asked to continue till the elections were over, adding that he completed his responsibilities before stepping down.
In a video, Annamalai said, "Today, we are going to start a movement. Our political party will contest in the next assembly election in Tamil Nadu. It was a great conflict whether I am a BJP person or a Tamilian. I told the party on 4th December 2025 that I am going to resign. The party asked me to finish the elections and then go," he said.
"I had a difference in opinion. I had been expressing this to the BJP leaders for 18 months. I told the party on 4 December 2025 that I am going to resign and that they should not think that I've made the decision hurriedly. The party asked me to wait till the end of the elections and then leave. As a true cadre, I finished my election work till the end," he further said.
The announcement of a new political party came hours after he resigned from the party. Bharatiya Janata Party National President Nitin Nabin accepted Annamalai's resignation from the primary membership of the party today.
In his resignation letter, Annamalai thanked the BJP leadership for the unwavering support over the years. He reasoned that different views on Tamil Nadu were behind his decision to step out of the party.
"I thank the senior leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party for your unwavering support for the causes and concerns I have consistently brought to their attention from time to time," he said.
"After my conversations with our senior leadership, I have come to the conclusion that our views don't align regarding Tamil Nadu," he added.
The development comes three days after Annamalai visited New Delhi, where he met with BJP chief Nitin Nabin, the party's General Secretary BL Santhosh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Speculations related to Annamalai starting a new political party grew after the BJP's big loss in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, where the party managed to secure a mere 3 per cent vote share while contesting 27 seats in alliance with the AIADMK.
Posters featuring slogans like "Our Leader, Come and Lead Us" have been put up along key roads and streets in Coimbatore ahead of Annamalai's birthday on June 4.
Annamalai gave a major boost to the BJP in Tamil Nadu, where he managed to climb the party's vote share to 11 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from three per cent. However, the BJP couldn't win a single parliamentary seat. Due to this and his sour relations with AIADMK, he was replaced by Nainar Nagendran as the Tamil Nadu state chief in 2025.
His exit from the party drew mixed responses, with BJP leaders asserting the party remains unaffected, and opposition leaders commenting on the BJP's limited influence in the state and Annamalai's decision to chart his own political path.
"There is no loss," said Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagenthran.
Tamil Nadu BJP Spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy said, "His contribution to the party in Tamil Nadu cannot be denied at all, but it does not mean that there will be no one else to contribute more... BJP is a party under the dynamic leadership of PM Modi so it will continue as Politics is a continuous process... BJP will not see anything as a loss. We welcome everyone to the party, but if someone decides to leave, it is their wish. It is not going to affect the party... You may have differences of opinion or differences, but you should try to fight within... If you choose to leave, it is up to you. We wish him good luck because he is a very good personality and an active and dynamic leader..."
DMK leader RS Bharathi said, "...We are least bothered. Anybody can start a party..."
Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram said, "See, this is something which was in the offing for a long time. Annamalai has realised something which I have always known, that the BJP has very limited acceptance and purchase in Tamil Nadu. And if somebody wants to move ahead in politics, the BJP is not the right vehicle. It has taken Annamalai five to six years to realise that...It's a gutsy move; I wish him well...I think he joined the BJP only because Mr. Rajinikanth did not form a party, and Mr. Annamalai doesn't come from the Sangh Parivar, he's not from the RSS, and he's not an ideologue in the Hindutva sense. He was only a lateral entrant to the party, and after five years, he has realised that this party has no future in Tamil Nadu, and he himself has had very little success within the party."
Congress MP Jothimani said, "If the BJP is truly disliked by the people of Tamil Nadu, it will never be able to establish itself in the state. Perhaps Annamalai has realised this truth after six years. Based on that realisation, he may choose to leave the BJP and start a new political party. Whether he launches it independently or with the support of the BJP will become clear only after the party is formed."