After Annamalai, two more senior leaders quit BJP in Tamil Nadu
Nagarajan and Venkatesh's resignation following K Annamalai's exit from the BJP highlights the internal churn within the state unit.
Hours after former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai resigned from the party, two more senior leaders have stepped down from the saffron party in the state, further highlighting internal churn within the state unit.
BJP Tamil Nadu vice president Karu Nagarajan has announced that he will resign from his post and will soon send his resignation letter to the party leadership in New Delhi.
He also received Annamalai at the Chennai airport upon his arrival and said he has decided to extend support to the former BJP leader.
State secretary Sumathi Venkatesh has also resigned from the party. In her resignation letter, she said the decision was taken after “careful thought” and with “sadness.”
WHO IS KARU NAGARAJAN?
Nagarajan is a familiar face in Tamil Nadu media and has often represented the BJP in local television debates.
He has also contested in two major state elections, including the 2016 Assembly election from the Mylapore constituency and the high-profile 2017 RK Nagar bypoll.
However, he lost both the contests by a huge margin. In fact, he polled fewer votes than NOTA in the 2017 bypoll, which was won by AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran.
ANNAMALAI QUITS BJP
Annamalai finally quit the BJP on Friday, ending days of speculation over his next political move.
Addressing his supporters via social media, he announced the start of a "movement" that would eventually turn into a political party and contest the next Tamil Nadu elections in 2031.
The former BJP Tamil Nadu chief said there was a need to come out of "cult politics" and usher in common man politics in Tamil Nadu, as he announced his Annamalai Makkal Iyakkam (AMI) movement.
Annamalai's resignation came after he travelled to Delhi earlier this week and held hectic meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president Nitin Nabin.
In his resignation letter, Annamalai cited "disagreement" with the party leadership over its political strategy in Tamil Nadu.
ANNAMALAI'S POLITICAL JOURNEY
Annamalai, an IPS officer who served in Karnataka, quit the service in 2019 to run an organisation called 'We The Leaders Foundation'. Most of the volunteers of his new movement will likely be from this outfit.
He joined the BJP in 2020 and, within a year, was made the state president. His aggressive campaigns against the then MK Stalin-led DMK government and his padyatra significantly raised the BJP's visibility in the southern state.
However, the BJP's decision to align with the AIADMK for the 2026 Tamil Nadu polls fuelled a rift with Annamalai, who was in favour of going solo.
The rift culminated in Annamalai quitting the BJP following its poor performance in the recent polls. His exit has left the party without a prominent face in Tamil Nadu, where it has historically struggled to make significant electoral inroads.