Tamil Nadu elections: Why Annamalai missed out on BJP candidate list – alliance over leader?

New Delhi: Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai was not included in the list of 27 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections announced by the party on Friday.When asked about the move, state president Nainal Nagendra said, “The decision was taken by the party high command”.

The differences with the party surfaced days ago when Annamalai was absent from the Coimbatore airport during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.However, just hours after the candidate list was released, Annamalai said he would fight alongside all candidates with the goal of having the NDA win 210 seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections.“Heartfelt congratulations to all the winning candidates of the BJP in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. They have the support of every TN brother and sister who is tired of corruption, complacency and DMK betrayal,” Annamalai said.“As a native of Kayakkarda, I will campaign shoulder to shoulder for all winning PPP and other NDA candidates with a target of NDA winning 210 seats in the upcoming assembly elections,” he added.Why Anamale was pushed to the edgeNearly a year before the assembly elections, the BJP sacked Annamalai as state president, a decision widely seen as an attempt to restore ties with Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s AIADMK.Palaniswami reportedly put forward a precondition ahead of alliance talks – that Annamalai must step down in view of his relentless attacks on the AIADMK.

Following this development, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Annamalai’s organizational skills will be useful within the party-state framework.”The alliance has been finalized in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The AIADMK will contest 178 seats, the BJP will contest 27 seats and the PMK faction led by Dr Park Ji-sung will contest 27 seats. Anbumani Ramadoss will contest from 18 seats.Amma Makkal Munnetra Katchi, led by TTV Dhinakaran, will contest from 11 seats in the elections. This allocation reflects the seat-sharing agreement among NDA allies in Tamil Nadu.Meanwhile, in another setback for his followers on February 3, 2026, an angry Annamalai resigned as the election in-charge of six assembly constituencies – Karikudi, Singanalur, Srivakuntam, Virugambakkam, Madurai (South) and Padmanabapuram, citing his father’s ill health.The leader was reportedly upset at receiving only six seats in the 234-seat parliament.Moreover, when the Tamil Nadu BJP formed the Legislative Assembly Election Management Committee on February 11, headed by state Chief Nanal Nagantran, Annamalai’s name was also missing.Nagenthran was appointed as the chairman of the committee, while former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan, the party’s national executive member, was appointed as the coordinator.How caste worksCaste dynamics also appear to have played a role in Annamalai’s marginalization. Both he and EPS belong to the Gounder community.The AIADMK sees Annamalai’s emergence as a potential chief minister as a direct challenge to EPS’ dominance within the alliance.Gounders belong to the backward class and constitute about 5% to 7% of the population of Tamil Nadu. They are mainly concentrated in western Tamil Nadu or Kongunad region, which includes districts like Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Namakkal, Karur and Salem.After J Jayalalithaa’s death, Gounder member Edappadi K Palaniswami took over the AIADMK, marginalizing the Sasikala family and O Panneerselvam and allocating important cabinet posts to community leaders.Annamalai becomes BJP presidentAnnamalai emerged as a wooer for the BJP in Tamil Nadu, keeping both himself and the party in the spotlight during his tenure as state president while it struggled to expand its base across the state.In December 2024, he publicly whipped himself six times in protest against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam movement after an Anna University student was raped. In February 2025, he sparked controversy by threatening to demolish the DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam “brick by brick”. Annamalai also won over a section of the electorate through sharp attacks on Dravidian parties and their icons. He criticized EV Ramasamy and CN Annadurai and at one point described J Jayalalithaa as a “Hindu” leader. He further leveled corruption allegations against the ruling DMK and released what he called “DMK documents”. The first part was published in April 2023 and included allegations against Chief Minister MK Stalin, his son and minister Udayanidhi Stalin and other party leaders. The second part was released in July 2023, accusing nine DMK ministers of corruption.Ahead of the 2024 general elections, Annamalai conducted “En Mann, En Makkal” (My land, my people) yatra covering all 234 parliamentary constituencies to motivate party workers. Although the BJP did not win any of the 23 seats it contested, the party claimed that its vote share increased to 11% from 3.7% in 2019.