K Annamalai Unlikely To Fight Tamil Nadu Polls, May Get National Role: Sources
The 40-year-old, who became the state party president in 2021 and stepped down in April this year, is likely to be given a responsibility at the national level, the sources added.
While an official announcement on his role is awaited, Mr Annamalai exuded confidence that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), of which the BJP is a part, will win the polls in the southern state next year.
"We are soldiers of the party and the party is very clear that the DMK has to be thrown out of power. The party has also made a decision. Our national leaders have made a decision that the elections will be fought under the leadership of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami," he told NDTV.
"The BJP is also getting into a battle mode. We have our party chief Nainar Nagendran. The DMK's days are numbered and instead of projecting their achievements, they only want to speak about the BJP and AIADMK. Their house is not in order. The NDA will record a historic victory next year. They (DMK) might reach their historic low of single number of seats," he added.
Mr Annamalai made his electoral debut in the 2021 assembly elections from Aravakurichi constituency in Karur district and lost. He contested but lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The possibility of a national role for Mr Annamalai appears to be a reward for his work in the Dravidian heartland. He has been highly critical of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led government and his criticisms were initially supported by his party and its ally, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
Relations between the two allies, however, took a hit when Mr Annamalai started targeting the AIADMK leaders.
In September 2023, just months before the Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK snapped ties with the BJP reportedly over Mr Annamalai's remarks about AIADMK stalwarts, including former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
The poll campaign then for the Parliamentary elections took an interesting turn when Mr Palaniswami called Mr Annamalai a "publicity hound." The latter retaliated by relating Mr Palaniswami to "sour grapes" story for breaking poll ties with the BJP.
The two parties contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections separately but, again, were thumped by the DMK.
In April this year, the BJP and AIADMK reunited, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah declaring that the 2026 elections will be fought under the leadership of Mr Palaniswami.
The BJP has held friendly ties with the AIADMK but has usually been kept at arm's length. The AIADMK has lost - overwhelmingly - all elections in which it allied with the BJP, including the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly polls, prompting it to look on the BJP as a liability ahead of the 2024 elections.
In 2021, the AIADMK won just 75 seats - down from 136 five years earlier - and was ousted from power by the DMK-Congress combine.
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