After exit from BJP, Annamalai launches movement, eyes new party for 2031 polls

K Annamalai, the former Tamil Nadu BJP president who emerged as one of the party’s most visible faces in southern India over the past six years, formally announced his departure from the BJP on Friday and unveiled a new political movement that he said would eventually become a political party and contest the 2031 Tamil Nadu Assembly election.

In a lengthy online address that mixed autobiography, political explanation and a roadmap for the future, the 42-year-old former IPS officer revealed that his decision to leave the BJP had been conveyed to the party leadership months ago and described the move as the culmination of a long internal process rather than a sudden break.

“On December 4, 2024, I told the BJP,” Annamalai said. “They asked me to complete the election work and then leave.”

The announcement marks one of the most significant political departures in Tamil Nadu in recent years and comes amid a rapidly changing political landscape following Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s rise to power and the weakening of several established political formations.

Annamalai said his new organisation would initially function as a movement before transforming into a political party. “Certainly, in the next Tamil Nadu Assembly election, our party will contest. There is no doubt about that,” he said. The movement will function under the banner of We The Leaders, an organisation he said had originally been started in 2020, and will establish an A P J Abdul Kalam Centre for Ethics and Politics in Coimbatore to train future political entrants before they contest elections.

The former BJP leader repeatedly framed the new initiative as an attempt to build what he called “common man politics,” distancing himself from personality-driven political culture. “We must come out of this cult politics,” he said. “We must promote common man politics.”

He also proposed term limits within the future party, arguing that politics should not remain the preserve of a handful of permanent leaders. “Permanent leaders, permanent MLAs, permanent ministers, permanent MPs – we are going to put an end to that,” he said.

Much of the speech was devoted to explaining why he joined the BJP in 2020 and why he eventually chose to leave. Annamalai disclosed that actor Rajinikanth had personally called him a day before he joined the BJP and invited him to join his proposed political effort.

“At that time, when the Superstar requested that I should return from Delhi and join his movement,” Annamalai said, he ultimately declined because he had already given his word to BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh. “I had given a promise. I should not break that promise,” he said.

Annamalai said he continued to hold “immense respect and regard” for Rajinikanth and disclosed the episode primarily to end years of speculation about his political entry. Throughout the speech, he avoided personal attacks on BJP leaders and repeatedly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi while explaining his disagreements with the party. “Prime Minister Modi has my respect. That honour remains,” he said.

At the same time, he acknowledged long-running differences with the party leadership, particularly on issues relating to Tamil Nadu. “These differences of opinion that I have had – I have been expressing them very patiently for 18 months,” he said. Annamalai argued that he consistently sought to give the BJP a stronger Tamil Nadu identity and cited his positions on issues such as the Mekedatu dam project, methane and hydrocarbon extraction projects, and language policy.

“I have never given up Tamil Nadu’s identity. I have never given up our soil. I have never given up our cultural heritage. I have never given up our water rights,” he said. He reiterated a formulation that has defined much of his political messaging over the years.

“I am a proud Indian with the identity of a traditional Tamil,” he said. The speech also offered insight into the ideological direction of the proposed movement. Annamalai repeatedly referenced former President A P J Abdul Kalam, praised technocrats, called for greater participation by professionals in politics and urged Tamil professionals working globally to contribute to public life in the state.

He described the effort as risky and acknowledged that unlike many established political leaders, neither he nor his associates came from powerful political or business backgrounds. “It is a huge risk. It is not an ordinary task,” he said. “All of us are middle-class people. We are common people. We do not have pedigree. We did not come from large business backgrounds. We do not have star value. No one handed over to us a great traditional political party.”

Annamalai repeatedly urged patience from supporters and discouraged immediate defections from other parties, saying the movement would be built gradually before becoming a full-fledged political organisation. “Until then: patience, patience, patience,” he said.

By the end of the nearly two-hour address, Annamalai had formally ended months of speculation surrounding his future and confirmed what many political observers had increasingly come to expect: that his ambitions would no longer be pursued within the BJP. “Certainly, all of us together will create a great transformation and revolution,” he said. “Our only goal is to make Tamil Nadu the leading state within Bharat, within India.”