Speculations galore on the candidature of BJP leader Annamalai in the upcoming 2026 Assembly Polls. While there are many in social media who are keen on Annamalai contesting the 2026 Assembly elections, there are a few who are of the view that he must move to New Delhi and take up a central role. The authors of this article are of the view that Annamalai must contest the 2026 Assembly Elections in Tamil Nadu. We also further identify constituencies from where he can contest and the reasons behind the choice.
Why Annamalai Must Contest?
Signalling and intent matters a lot in politics. Ace Strategist Prashant Kishor did not contest the just concluded Bihar Assembly elections. This move proved suicidal for his party. Similarly, Vaiko committed the hara-kiri of backing out from contesting from Kovilpatti in 2016. This move rang the death knell for the much-famed PWF alliance then.
If a leader doesn’t contest, Indian electorate don’t take them seriously. Annamalai by far is the tallest leader in Tamil Nadu BJP now by leaps and bounds and probably the third largest leader in Tamil Nadu with a mass appeal after MK Stalin and Edappadi K. Palaniswami. His failure to stand in the upcoming elections will send a wrong signal to the electorate and leaders like TVK’s Vijay will fill his space. P Chidambaram who was once touted to be an upcoming and next big leader in 1980s fizzled out as he moved to New Delhi losing the tag of a serious contender. This 2026 election may be Stalin’s to lose or EPS to win but for Annamalai, it is an election to emerge as the third biggest mass leader and to do so, one must fight the election irrespective of the outcome.
Lessons From Stalwarts
If a leader has to emerge caste neutral and expand his base big time, he needs to come out of his comfort zone and contest in new battlegrounds. Jayalalitha in 1989 contested in Bodinayakkanur in South Tamil Nadu and in 1991 contested from Kangeyam in West Tamil Nadu and Bargur In North West Tamil Nadu. She established her caste neutral credentials and appealed to different sections and regions and won. Bodi is a Mukkulathor and Naidu dominated seat while Kangeyam was a Kongu Vellalar Gounder dominated seat while Bargur had a sizeable Telugu and Vanniyar population. She could have stood in Mylapore or T Nagar in 1989 and won but chose totally different seats with diverse demography and regions. She understood the importance of being caste neutral. She chose her seats to appeal to wider sections and won. The fact that Kongu still remains a strong ADMK bastion even now is because of her decision to contest from Kangeyam in 1991.
Similarly, Vijayakanth chose to contest from Virudhachalam in 2006 and won the election. He was conscious of not getting branded as a Telugu Naicker politician. He wanted to prove his appeal across communities and chose Virudhachalam then. It cemented him as a caste neutral politician and widened his appeal paving the way to become Leader of Opposition in 2011.
Annamalai contested 2021 election from Aravakurichi and 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Coimbatore. Both the constituencies are in Kongu region. If he decides to contest from Kongu region again, he stands to be labelled as a Kongu politician. He is only 40 years and has atleast 3 decades ahead of him in politics. He needs to widen his base and appeal. He should chose his constituency to fight accordingly.
Where Should Annamalai Contest From?
BJP finished second in South Chennai Lok Sabha seat in 2024 ahead of ADMK and polled impressive votes in several constituencies.
All these 3 constituencies are cosmopolitan and have nationalistic minded voters. BJP too performed well in many wards in Greater Chennai Corporation polls in these constituencies and even won a ward falling under T Nagar Assembly segment.
A candidate like Annamalai in T Nagar in 2026 can invigorate voters big time, win the seat and the ripple effect will be felt across Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Chennai, Chengalpattu (KTCC) seats numbering around 36 in 2026. KTCC region was the weakest link for NDA in 2021 when it won just one out of the 36 seats. Now there is a chance to tear into this DMK’s fort with Annamalai taking charge of the region and contesting from the seat. His appeal among middle class voters will swell further/ Standing outside Kongu in a cosmopolitan seat will bolster his caste neutral appeal as well. Just like Narendra Modi made Maninagar his fort and Ahmedabad a BJP bastion, Annamalai can make T Nagar his fort and Chennai a NDA bastion in the years to come.
A constituency like T Nagar, is small measuring about 10 sqkm, is a sure shot win for Annamalai. It will make his campaign easy and help him gain time to campaign across other KTCC seats and across the state. A bulk of his time was spent crisscrossing a bigger Aravakurichi (Assembly Election 2021) and Coimbatore (Lok Sabha Election 2024) leaving him with very little time to focus on other seats. A seat like T Nagar will help him optimize his efforts and time big as well.
Taking into account all these factors – creating a fort, laying foundation for a future bastion, testing waters in newer territory, boosting the caste neutral image and widening the appeal in newer regions, Annamalai must contest from T Nagar constituency in 2026.
Another constituency where he can try is Madurai South where the BJP polled 42073 votes and finished a narrow second to DMK ally CPI-M’s 45783 votes in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Madurai South is also cosmopolitan with people from various communties like Saurashtra, Mukkulathors, Yadavas, Naickers and Devendra Kula Vellalar’s reside. This constituency is also close to Tiruparankundram, the abode of Lord Muruga. And the seat is in South Tamil Nadu – the place Sangam flourished and Tamil prospered. Contesting here too will have huge ripple effect in Pandya region which has 60 Assembly seats and NDA won only 19 in 2021. And Annamalai can broaden his appeal even more across a diverse demography.
Annamalai must contest 2026 polls. He must contest outside Kongu – either in T Nagar or Madurai South, rewrite the electoral history of these regions and create new bastions for NDA.
Subash R is a finance professional.
Kaushik S is a political writer.
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.