Annamalai stays relevant by becoming a thorn in BJP-AIADMK ties

Former President of the Tamil Nadu BJP K Annamalai

In Tamil Nadu’s evolving political drama in the run-up to next year’s Assembly election, a subplot within the state unit of the BJP is threatening to ruin the main narrative set by the principal partner of the NDA, the AIADMK.

Former BJP state president K Annamalai is trying to upstage current state president Nainar Nagendran by constantly harping on power-sharing, an issue the AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami is trying to keep away from his campaign that is directed solely at the DMK.

Annamalai insists that the alliance was formed on the understanding that a coalition government would be formed if the NDA came to power. Palaniswami argues that the people of Tamil Nadu want a single-party rule, and believes that the AIADMK will win a majority of its own.

Annamalai, who was replaced with Nagendran only because the AIADMK was unhappy with him, has been stoking the power sharing issue repeatedly, making Nagendran uncomfortable. Nagendran is working to help Palaniswami, who is on a roadshow campaign, bring the NDA to power in the state, while keeping BJP's target of more BJP seats from the state in the 2029 Lok Sabha election.

Annamalai’s efforts have given rise to the question of whether he was trying to break the alliance and if there are differences within the state unit of the BJP itself.

When asked about it by the media, Annamalai responded: “As a BJP worker, I must follow what my leader Amit Shah says. He has clearly stated multiple times that the BJP will be part of the government. If I say there will be no coalition government, I am not fit to be a worker or a leader in this party.” And, went on to add: “If I cannot defend my leader’s stance, why should I be in politics? Why should I be in the BJP?”

Denying that he was trying to break the alliance Annamalai had said: “We (BJP) neither cheat, nor get cheated.”

Nagendran, at a party committee meeting earlier said: “The 2026 election is not our main goal. Our target is the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. There is no doubt that the NDA will come to power in 2026. Whether our current four seats increase to 40 or 50 is a different matter. Our aim is to maximise the number of MPs from Tamil Nadu in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. That’s when others will understand BJP’s strength.”

This strategy was criticised by Annamalai who felt that the party workers will not be enthused to make another party leader a Chief Minister, when there is no sharing of power.

DMK has taken advantage of NDA’s confusion over government formation and is accusing the AIADMK of allowing a back door entry for the BJP in Tamil Nadu.

Palaniswami has been categorical that there would be no coalition government in the state as “people” of the state prefer only one party rule. “Union Home Minister Amit Shah did not say there would be a coalition government. He only said our alliance will form the government. As far as our alliance is concerned, my word is final,” Palaniswami asserted.

Palaniswami’s strategic wording “people want” communicated to the BJP that the AIADMK was not fundamentally opposed to a coalition government, but that tactically it is better not to approach the voters with the promise of a coalition government. The message seems to be: let the election be over and depending on the number of seats won, in the event of NDA getting a majority, the question of power-sharing could be decided.

But Annamalai, for his own reasons, does not want Palaniswami and Nagendran to hide behind such ambiguity. His best chance of getting into the limelight is at the head of a BJP-led alliance. And to that end, he seems intent on playing up the differences between the BJP and the AIADMK to the extent possible.