K. Annamalai | A new chapter
On June 5, 2026, Kuppusamy Annamalai, a 42-year-old former Indian police officer, announced the launch of a “movement” that he said would eventually become a regional political party. The movement saw more than 10 million registrations in the first day. The same day, the BJP announced that it had accepted Mr. Annamalai’s resignation from the party.
Reports of Mr. Annamalai leaving the BJP to form a new party had been doing the rounds since January. Annamalai posters appeared in Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts in the last week of May, suggesting an announcement from him soon. He was also not present at the BJP’s post-election meeting held in Coimbatore.
Watch: Annamalai’s Next Step: A New Political Experiment? | Focus on Tamil Nadu
In a letter to the BJP leadership dated June 2, Mr. Annamalai said his views were not aligned with BJP leaders regarding Tamil Nadu. For 18 months, he had numerous conversations and disagreements with them about the state. “I firmly believe that a strong and united India is built on the strength, dignity and aspirations of its many regions and communities,” he wrote in a letter to BJP president Nitin Nabin.
Mr. Annamalai’s political journey began in 2020 when BL Santhosh, general secretary of the BJP, identified him as a potential leader. He retired as Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Bengaluru and joined the BJP in 2020. Within weeks, he was appointed the party’s vice-president for Tamil Nadu and contested the 2021 assembly elections from Aravankurichi in Karur district.
He lost to R. Elang of DMK. In July 2021, he took over as the Tamil Nadu state BJP president. At the age of 37, he became the youngest leader to head the state unit of the BJP from 16 July 2021 to 11 April 2025.
Crowd puller
His ‘En Mann, En Makkal’ padayatra which started in July 2023 drew crowds in many parts of the state and attracted several youngsters to the party. However, his remarks against the ideology of the AIADMK and some of its leaders that year led to the AIADMK severing its ties with the BJP and leaving the National Democratic Alliance.
Mr. Annamalai has been vocal in pushing for the BJP to fight the Tamil Nadu elections without an alliance with the AIADMK. For the 2024 assembly elections, Mr. Annamalai brought NDA Pattali Makkal Katchi, Tamil Maanila Congress and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam to Tamil Nadu. He contested from Coimbatore and lost to DMK’s Ganapathi P. Rajkumar.
AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami is said to have wanted Mr. Annamalai to be removed as state president so that the AIADMK would tie up with the BJP for the 2026 assembly elections.
Mr. Annamalai was born in an agrarian family at Thoppampatti in Karur District on June 4, 1984. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore and went on to do his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management-Lucknow. He joined Indian Police Service (IPS) in 2011 under Karnataka cadre and served in Karnataka till 2020.
In 2019–20, even before entering active politics, he founded the “We the Leaders” foundation, focusing on organic farming, local leadership, skills and empowerment through sports. As Mr. Annamalai invited those interested in his movement to register with “We the Leaders”, there were 13,17,808 registrations as of the afternoon of June 6.
Addressing the public on June 5, after quitting the BJP, Mr. Annamalai said he was inspired by the politics of former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam. He said he would bring a constructive policy that would be clean and no “permanent chair” for anyone, including himself. “We will have to come out of cult politics. This will be the politics of the common people,” he said in a speech on social media platforms.
He also announced the setting up of the APJ Abdul Kalam Center for Ethics and Politics in Coimbatore to train and prepare people for political leadership. Mr. Annamalai is expected to field candidates in local body elections in Tamil Nadu and contest the 2029 general elections.
Published – 07 Jun 2026 02:00 IST