Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 5 (ANI): Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagendran on Friday dismissed concerns over the resignation of former state unit chief K. Annamalai, asserting that the party is an ideology-based organisation and therefore, the departure would have no impact on its electoral prospects in the state.
Speaking to reporters regarding reports of Annamalai launching a new political movement, Nagendran emphasised that every individual is free to start a political party in a democracy.
“I cannot comment on Annamalai’s resignation. The BJP is not a party that was formed recently. It is an ideology-based party, and there will certainly be no impact from this development. Anyone is free to start a political party. In a democracy, everyone has that right. Annamalai’s resignation from the BJP will not have any impact on the party. The allegation that importance is not being given to state-level rights is incorrect,” said Nagendran.
Nagendran’s remarks came after BJP 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 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 on 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 raise 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. (ANI)
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