Chennai: Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai on Friday announced a new political movement after formally severing ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), citing prolonged ideological and strategic differences with the party leadership.
The development came hours after BJP national president Nitin Nabin accepted Annamalai’s resignation from the party’s primary membership, days after the former IPS officer met senior BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and national general secretary B.L. Santhosh, and submitted his resignation letter on June 2.
Announcing his new initiative during an online interaction, Annamalai said the movement, named We The Leaders, would eventually evolve into a political party and contest elections in Tamil Nadu, beginning with local body polls.
“From today, we are taking a new path through a new political movement that perceives things in a new dimension,” he said, adding that the platform aimed to reshape the state’s political culture and encourage greater public participation.
According to Annamalai, the movement has already begun enrolling members, with over one lakh people reportedly joining the initiative. He also announced plans to establish the Abdul Kalam Centre for Ethics in Politics in Coimbatore.
Explaining his exit from the BJP, Annamalai said disagreements with the party leadership had persisted for nearly 18 months. In his resignation letter to BJP chief Nitin Nabin, he wrote that his views on “growth-oriented and culturally rooted politics” in Tamil Nadu no longer aligned with the party leadership.
“I do not want to burden the top leadership any further with my ongoing thoughts on the way forward for Tamil Nadu,” he stated in the letter.
Speaking publicly on Friday, Annamalai claimed he had informed the BJP of his decision to leave as early as December last year but stayed on at the party’s request until election-related responsibilities were completed.
Despite his departure, the former BJP leader said he continued to respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi and clarified that his new organisation would view the BJP like any other political party.
Annamalai said the movement would seek to move beyond personality-driven politics and create opportunities for professionals and talented individuals to enter public life.
“My aspiration is to change the political language and grammar of Tamil Nadu and build a politics centred on the common man,” he said.
A former Indian Police Service officer, Annamalai joined politics in 2020 after serving in Karnataka Police. Hailing from Tamil Nadu’s Karur district, he rose rapidly in the BJP and was appointed president of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit in 2021.
During his tenure, the BJP projected him as a key face to expand its presence in a state traditionally dominated by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). However, his leadership period was marked by tensions with alliance partner AIADMK, which eventually exited the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Though the BJP contested separately, the NDA secured around 18 per cent of the vote share in Tamil Nadu during the 2024 parliamentary elections, with the BJP accounting for nearly 11 per cent.
In April 2025, Annamalai stepped down as Tamil Nadu BJP chief and was replaced by Nainar Nagendran after the AIADMK rejoined the NDA.
