CHENNAI: AS talks over an imminent change in leadership of the Tamil Nadu BJP gather momentum, TNIE has learnt that the party’s national leadership still prefers to continue with K Annamalai at the helm if he is willing to work in an alliance with the AIADMK for the 2026 Assembly elections.
“The ball is in Annamalai’s court,” a senior leader said, adding that during his recent visit to Delhi, it was made clear to him that the AIADMK-BJP alliance is of utmost importance for the Assembly polls. However, the leadership does not want the alliance to materialise at the cost of Annamalai’s position.
On the contrary, Annamalai has reiterated to the top brass his firm conviction that the alliance is not in the national party’s best interests in Tamil Nadu, presenting a micro-level, data-backed analysis to support his stance.
He has also indicated that he would rather not continue as state president if the alliance is inevitable—a stance he first declared at an internal party meeting in March 2023.
His subsequent remarks, perceived as antagonistic towards the BJP’s then-ally AIADMK, led to the Dravidian party quitting the NDA in September 2023.
Annamalai met Union Home Minister and BJP’s chief political strategist Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda, and national secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh in Delhi last week. His visit followed AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s meeting with Shah, which signalled the beginning of a rapprochement between the two parties.
BJP sources said the top brass has advised Annamalai to reconsider his stance. If he remains unwilling to accept an alliance with the AIADMK—a priority for the BJP—he may step down from his position.
A senior functionary said that although many were unhappy about the AIADMK alliance collapsing ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections—largely due to Annamalai—the party leadership had fully backed him, trusting his confidence and leadership. Moreover, 2024 was seen as an opportunity for the BJP to test its own strength, and it could afford to lose the state, being confident of returning to power at the centre.
With the 2024 results proving disappointing, despite an increase in vote share in certain pockets, the party does not want to take any risks in 2026.
However, the national leadership acknowledges Annamalai’s contributions and understands the challenges involved in replacing him. “The party has had many ‘state presidents’, but with Annamalai, BJP cadres and supporters believe they have a ‘leader’,” another senior leader said.
Despite criticisms from certain quarters within and outside the party over his style of leadership, the senior leader said no one could disagree that the party has gained more traction in the State after Annamalai’s arrival and he has succeeded to a large extent with his relentless energy to position him and his party as the principal rival to the DMK by stealing the limelight from the AIADMK on many occasions.
The leader dismissed as baseless the rumours that Palaniswami insisted on Annamalai’s removal for the alliance to materialise, asserting that the BJP would not entertain such conditions. “Moreover, it would enhance Palaniswami’s image, allowing him to claim it as his victory and bargaining prowess while demoralising BJP cadres. Why would we want that?” he asked.
Although there is speculation that Annamalai could be accommodated in the Union Cabinet, the leader noted that he could only be made a Minister of State. Even if it were in an important ministry like Home, it would still be seen—at least temporarily—as a demotion and a concession to AIADMK’s pressure.
Finding a suitable replacement for Annamalai is a challenge the BJP is reluctant to face at this moment, party sources said. They added that the long list of potential candidates—from BJP Assembly floor leader Nainar Nagendran to the relatively unknown state general secretary Karuppu Muruganandham—indicates that there is no clear frontrunner.
Nagendran, who was a minister and a key leader of south TN for AIADMK in the early 2000s, is a veteran in electoral politics and has an amiable character suited for an alliance. He is seen as a strong contender since he hails from the Mukkulathor community.
However, a party leader said that O Panneerselvam and TTV Dhinakaran have already proved to be helpful to the BJP in the 2024 elections in consolidating the Mukkulathor votes in south Tamil Nadu. Making Nagendran as president may be a risky bet as the party may alienate the Nadar community, who are also a majority in the south, he said.
