Annamalai rules himself out of Tamil Nadu BJP chief race: ‘I am not in…’

K Annamalai

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Friday ruled himself out of the state leadership race. “There is no 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 said.

This comes amid a strong buzz around BJP's possible reunion with the AIADMK -- aimed at unseating MK Stalin's ruling DMK -- ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections due in the first half of the next year.

A few days back, AIADMK’s general secretary and former Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi.

Earlier, speaking to the media over the possibility of the AIADMK returning to the NDA ahead of the polls, Annamalai said, "I am not authorised to talk about alliance or the formation of alliance at this point of time."

“As the president of Tamil Nadu BJP, the role that is given to me is to strengthen the party in the state. That is what all of us are trying to do. The leaders are with me, the cadres are with me,” he said.

He also stated that BJP's central leadership team will take an “appropriate call” on the nature of alliances in the run up to the state polls.

“With respect to the shape and form of the alliance in 2026 and the nature of the NDA, our leadership will take a call at an appropriate time and naturally the media will be briefed,” he added.

The main opposition party in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK, snapped ties with the saffron party in September 2023 in the run-up to 2024 Lok Sabha polls over some differences. Annamalai is seen as among the key factors in the fallout between the two partners.

Annamalai has reportedly dialled down his criticism of the AIADMK for some time.