Former Tamil Nadu BJP Chief K Annamalai on Tuesday tendered his resignation from the party during his meeting with BJP national president Nitin Nabin. He is expected to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah
at 4 pm.
There had been intense speculation that Annamalai, who has kept a low profile since being replaced as Tamil Nadu BJP chief by Nainar Nagendran, wished to part ways with the party, with reports suggesting that he no longer saw a future in the BJP.
During a crucial meeting with Nitin Nabin and organisation secretary BL Santhosh, Annamalai reportedly expressed his wish to part ways with the party on cordial terms. He told the party leadership that he wants to “chart his own course now”.
However, the BJP leadership was still considering efforts to persuade the former IPS officer to stay, and a national role for him is on the cards. According to sources, Annamalai has been asked not to leave Delhi until any further instructions.
Major Political Shake-Up In Tamil Nadu
Annamalai’s exit from the BJP would mark a major political shake-up in the state after actor-turned-politician Vijay’s meteoric rise from the big screen to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
According to sources close to Annamalai, he believes that Tamil Nadu’s political landscape has undergone a significant shift following the rise of actor Vijay as a political force. “There is no leader to fight Vijay today. The Dravidian era is over. Politics centred on language issues alone will no longer work. The politics of the state have changed,” a source aware of the discussions said.
Amid the buzz over his possible exit, supporters of Annamalai put up posters in Madurai urging him to take his “next avatar” and “save Tamil Nadu.”
