As an IPS officer in Karnataka, he was widely known as "Singham" (Lion). That lion now seems to have lost his way in the wilderness of politics.
Six years into his latest innings, former IPS officer-turned BJP leader Annamalai Kuppuswami might have realised that politics isn't policing and the twain never shall meet.
Born in a family of farmers in a village in Karur district of Tamil Nadu—Annamalai, following his education in the PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore and Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow—went on to join the Indian Police Service in 2011.
After nearly a decade in the Indian Police Service, he resigned as Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Bengaluru, in May 2019, citing his desire to spend time with his family. In his short career, he had cultivated a reputation for integrity. A little while later came the decision to join politics.
In his memoir Stepping Beyond Khaki: Revelations of a Real-life Singham, Annamalai writes that a trip to Kailash in 2018 and the untimely death of a senior officer he deeply admired gave him the final impetus to take an uncharted path. He joined the BJP in 2020 and went on to become the youngest state president of the party in Tamil Nadu in 2021.
But four years on came another bend in the road. In the run-up to the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, BJP chose to remove Annamalai from the state president's post in April 2025.
The move to replace him with Nainar Nagenthran, an ex-AIADMK leader, was widely seen as paving the way for reviving the BJP's alliance with the AIADMK under Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS).
The widely-held belief was that Palaniswami had made Annamalai's ouster a precondition for alliance talks ahead of the polls, as the latter had been ruthless in his attacks on the AIADMK.
Caste dynamics also appear to have played a role. Both Annamalai and EPS belong to the Gounder community, and Annamalai's emergence as a potential chief ministerial aspirant was perceived by the AIADMK as a direct challenge to Palaniswami's dominance within the alliance.
Additionally, political observers say that Annamalai's perceived hubris during his stint as state BJP president did not help his cause. Having said that, his followers are unwilling to write him off.
The "war rooms" or social media handles operated by his supporters continue to stay active while remaining unhappy about the BJP and the AIADMK joining hands. His followers refuse to give up on the hope that the BJP will reward Annamalai with a post he deserves in the party.
Meanwhile, another setback for his followers came on February 3, 2026, when a peeved Annamalai stepped down as election in-charge for six Assembly constituencies—Karaikudi, Singanallur, Srivaikuntam, Virugambakkam, Madurai (South), and Padmanabhapuram—citing his father's ill health. Being reduced to a minor role was unacceptable to him and his supporters.
Kesava Vinayagam, the man seen to have heaped the perceived ignominy on Annamalai, was on February 9 relieved from the post of Tamil Nadu general secretary (organisation). He was reassigned to full-time RSS work.
The decision to remove Kesava Vinayagam was taken at a meeting of top BJP and RSS leaders. There, Annamalai reportedly asked them what the strategy to defeat the DMK in the upcoming election was.
However, Annamalai's name didn't figure when the Tamil Nadu BJP on February 11 constituted a Legislative Assembly election management committee under its state chief Nainar Nagenthran. While Nagenthran was named as head of the committee, former union minister and the party's national executive member Pon Radhakrishnan was named as the coordinator.
Annamalai's role in the party then continues to remain obscure.
During his stint as state president, Annamalai kept both himself and the BJP in the media limelight. Whether one likes the brand of politics he practised or not, it has to be conceded that it did help the party strengthen its base in parts of the state.
His theatrics were many. For instance, in December 2024, he flogged himself publicly six times to launch a protest against the DMK following the rape of a student at Anna University.
In February 2025, he grabbed headlines with a statement threatening to "bring down" the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, "brick by brick".
Dr Sunilkumar VM, a political science faculty member at a private university, observed that Annamalai's approach as party president was centralised and, unfortunately, not suited to Tamil Nadu's political culture.
Sunilkumar noted that Annamalai's background as a retired IPS officer initially helped him attract a significant following, especially among the youths. However, much of his popularity was driven by a carefully crafted narrative that resonated strongly on social media.
"Some of my friends used to admire Annamalai when he entered politics, largely because of his 'bureaucratic image'—that of a 'Mr Clean' known for his simplicity," Sunilkumar said.
Annamalai could not build on that in politics, Sunilkumar felt.
Instead his social media army largely focused on personal attacks against political rivals, and Annamalai's attacks on DMK leaders themselves were often cinematic but lacking in consistency, he added.
Researcher G Arun noted that Annamalai initially projected himself as a leader inclined to accommodate Dravidian parties. However, when he realised there were no takers for this brand of politics, he began playing the communal card.
Arun cited a couple of incidents to explain Annamalai's political trajectory.
One was the January 2022 Ariyalur Lavanya case, which relates to the death by suicide of 17-year-old student Lavanya Muruganandham. Annamalai alleged that Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, where Lavanya was studying, pressured her to convert to Christianity, driving her to take her own life.
Two years later, a CBI investigation concluded that the student's death was caused by harassment from her hostel warden and not due to pressure to convert.
Annamalai also gained popularity among a section of the people by repeatedly targeting Dravidian parties and their icons. He targeted Periyar and Anna, and once called Jayalalithaa a "Hindutva" leader, Arun recalled.
He levelled allegations of corruption against the ruling DMK and released what he termed the "DMK Files".
The first part of the files was released in April 2023, containing charges against Chief Minister MK Stalin, his son and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, and other DMK ministers and MPs. The second part was released in July 2023 and contained documents alleging corruption by nine DMK ministers.
While the first part was released to the media, the second part—comprising a large volume of documents—was handed over to the State Governor RN Ravi. Both stunts have yielded no returns.
In the run-up to the 2024 general elections, Annamalai visited all 234 Assembly constituencies through his 'En Mann, En Makkal’ (My Soil, My People) yatra to boost party morale. Although the BJP failed to win any of the 23 seats it contested, it claimed that its vote share rose to 11 percent.
Arun argues that to gauge the BJP's growth in Tamil Nadu, one should not compare the 2024 election results with that of 2019, as the BJP was part of the AIADMK alliance in 2019.
While the party secured a six percent vote share by contesting seven seats in 2014, its vote share in 2024 stood at around 11 percent after contesting 23 seats.
"When we look at the vote shares from these two elections (and keep in mind that the party fought in more seats in 2024), the BJP has not gained significantly," Arun noted.
For a man who was once 'Mr Clean', Annamalai's tenure as party president saw people with criminal antecedents become office-bearers, Arun observed. The Brahmin lobby, he added, was unhappy as they were largely sidelined.
With political compulsions having taken over as far as the BJP is concerned, Annamalai might seem to be down and out in Tamil Nadu at the present moment. In hindsight, his reign at the top might have all been sound and fury, to quote Shakespeare. But his staunchest followers are not willing to give up yet. Will there be a post-election restoration?
There are also speculations that the wounded leader may float a new party, which appears unlikely. But one can expect anything in politics, especially when it comes to a man who has not hesitated to take risks in life. At 41, Annamalai is still young enough to believe that he can find the political 'Singham' in himself. Will he?
