Tamil Nadu BJP set to get next chief; what now for Annamalai? Amit Shah answers

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday elected Nainar Nagendran as the president of its Tamil Nadu unit, making him the successor of their firebrand leader K Annamalai. The situation raises one question: What next for Annamalai?

Promptly, home minister Amit Shah, who was in Chennai on Friday to review the party's functioning and discuss alliance matters for the 2020 state assembly polls, provided an answer to this question.

Annamalai, who Shah said has made "commendable accomplishments" is also set for a national role in the party.

Annamalai in ‘national framework’

In a post on X, the home minister wrote, "The Tamil Nadu BJP received a nomination for the post of state president only from Shri @NainarBJP Ji. As the President of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, Shri @annamalai_k Ji has made commendable accomplishments. Whether it is carrying the policies of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji to people or the programs of the party from village to village, Annamalai Ji's contribution has been unprecedented."

"The BJP will leverage Annamalai Ji's organisational skills in the party's national framework," Shah added, clarifying the former IPS officer's future in the party.

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Earlier on April 4, Annamalai had announced that he was "not in the race" to become the next chief of the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit.

"There is not contest in Tamil Nadu BJP; we will select a leader unanimously. But I am not in the race. I am not in the BJP state leadership race," he had told reporters.

BJP-AIADMK to fight 2026 polls together

The development comes ahead of the significant Tamil Nadu assembly elections, scheduled to be held in 2026.

On Friday, itself, with Nainar Nagendran's election, the BJP also formed an alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for the 2026 polls.

According to news agency ANI, Amit Shah said that the "seat distribution and the distribution of ministries after the government is formed, both will be decided later".

He clarified that there were no pre-alliance conditions between the two parties, adding that the BJP would have no say in the internal matters of the AIADMK.

The BJP and AIADMK had entered into an alliance after the passing of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016. During the 2021 state polls, the BJP had won 4 seats while being in alliance with the AIADMK. The two, however, severed ties in 2023.