Chennai: Former Tamil Nadu president of the Bharatiya Janata Party K. Annamalai Friday resigned from the party’s primary membership, announcing the launch of a new political movement called ‘We The Leaders’ that he said would evolve and contest the next Assembly elections. Addressing the public via social media after his exit, Annamalai described the move as “a new beginning”, emphasising that he wanted to leave the party with respect.
Earlier in the day, BJP National President Nitin Nabin formally accepted the resignation following discussions with senior leaders in New Delhi. “The National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Hon’ble Shri Nitin Nabin, has accepted the resignation submitted by the Tamil Nadu Ex-State President, Shri K. Annamalai, from the primary membership of the Party,” a statement issued by BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh said.
Annamalai had travelled to Delhi earlier this week and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President Nitin Nabin, and the party’s National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh. The meetings reportedly served not only to formalise the exit but were also a courtesy call for the opportunities that the party had provided Annamalai over the past six years.
In his video address, Annamalai expressed his vision for creating “a new form of governance”, which originally drew him into politics.
Recounting his political journey, he mentioned starting with actor and film-maker Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam before joining the BJP. He said that his time in the BJP was like an “internship” after 17 years of efforts to improve politics and governance.
Annamalai also revealed that superstar Rajinikanth had consulted him about his political plans before he joined the BJP. Annamalai said he had chosen to honour his commitment to the BJP at that time, and apologised to Rajinikanth, for whom he expressed immense respect.
Reflecting on his commitment to Tamil Nadu, Annamalai said that over the past six years in the BJP, he never gave up on the state and consistently fought for its well-being, culture, and people.
He highlighted the party’s independent stance in elections and its support on issues like hydrocarbon and oil exploration projects and the Mekedatu Dam. Responding to questions about his identity, he said, “I am always asked if I am a Tamilian or an Indian. And with a traditional Tamilian, I am also a proud Indian (sic).”
In his resignation letter earlier, Annamalai cited “diasgreement” with party leadership over the political strategy in the state.
Annamalai’s choice of name for his new “people’s movement”—‘We The Leaders’—echoes the name of the non-profit organisation he had founded in 2020, called ‘We The Leaders Foundation’. He outlined grassroots plans, including building cadres and conducting ground outreach.
“With this beginning, we need to begin work at the grassroots level, from creating cadres to ground outreach. This will be a people’s movement that will be dynamic with new ideas and ideologies,” he said. He added that the movement would also train and educate common people to become political leaders, besides establishing a ‘Centre for Politics and Ethics’ in Coimbatore.
Annamalai described the initiative as one that would soon take the shape of a party capable of fighting the next Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. He aims to position himself as an alternative voice focused on governance, ethics, and grassroots empowerment.
A former Indian Police Service officer who served in Karnataka, Annamalai resigned from the service in 2019 to run a Non-Governmental Organisation called ‘We The Leaders Foundation’ before joining BJP in 2020, citing alignment with nationalism and merit-based politics.
He was appointed Tamil Nadu BJP President in 2021. With his aggressive campaigns against the then Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government and extensive outreach programs like the ‘En Mann, En Makkal’ yatra, he significantly raised the party’s visibility in the State, though the electoral success of the party remained limited. Annamalai built a Tamil-centric BJP where he attacked the ruling government on governance, corruption, demanding political reform, while also advocating Tamil identity.
The primary reason for Annamalai’s decision appears to be deep dissatisfaction with the BJP’s alliance strategy and seat-sharing arrangements during the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. He was particularly upset over the party’s alliance with the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and the limited number of seats allocated to the BJP.
“Annamalai had opposed the alliance with the AIADMK and suggested that BJP should build independent organisational strength and contest more seats on its own symbol. He had also expressed dissatisfaction over the limited number of seats allotted to the BJP by the AIADMK,” said a member of the Tamil Nadu BJP.
Before the 2026 Assembly polls, Annamalai had stepped down as election in-charge for six constituencies in February, officially citing his father’s ill health. He had earlier resigned as state BJP president in April 2025 to facilitate an alliance with the AIADMK, after he had spats with its leader Edappadi Palaniswami over Annamalai’s comments on former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
The poor performance of the NDA in the 2026 elections is said to have reinforced Annamalai’s belief that the BJP’s current strategy in the state is not rendering results or strengthening its position in the state.
The BJP’s strength in the Tamil Nadu Assembly dropped to just one MLA after the 2026 Assembly polls from the earlier four.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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