Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai has quit the party and is expected to start a “movement” that would eventually be converted into a regional political party.

Sources told The Hindu on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) that Mr. Annamalai submitted his resignation letter to the party leadership on Tuesday (June 2) and had meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin, and national general secretary of the party B.L. Santhosh.

He remained firm on his decision to leave the party, the sources added. Mr. Annamalai is expected to announce his future plans soon.

From IPS stint to party chief

The former Karnataka-cadre IPS officer joined the party in August 2020. He headed the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit from July 16, 2021, to April 11, 2025, when Nainar Nagenthran replaced him.

A mechanical engineering and an MBA graduate, Mr. Annamalai cleared the civil services and joined the police force in Karnataka in 2011. His first stint was as Additional Superintendent of Police, Karkala, before he was promoted SP, Udupi. In 2018, Mr. Annamalai was transferred as SP, Ramanagara district. He was transferred to Bengaluru soon after the B.S. Yediyurappa-led BJP government took over, to head Bengaluru South division, where he served till May 2019 before his resignation. Soon after resigning, he had said he wanted to serve the public and correct inefficiencies in the system.

Mr. Annamalai had unsuccessfully contested from Aravakurichi in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly election and from Coimbatore in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He did not contest the recent Assembly election and had identified himself as an “ordinary karyakarta” of the party.