Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai has broken his silence on his exit from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying differences over the party’s functioning in Tamil Nadu, decision-making from Delhi and the need for stronger regional leadership prompted him to launch his new political movement, “We, The Leaders.”
In his first interview since leaving the BJP and unveiling the movement, speaking to Times of India, Annamalai reflected on his political journey, his relationship with the BJP leadership, the rise of Vijay’s TVK, the defeat of the DMK, the future of AIADMK, and his vision for a new political culture in Tamil Nadu.
Annamalai said he joined the BJP on 25 August 2020 and described his tenure as one that helped him evolve both politically and personally.
“I remain a strong nationalist and believe in India’s unity, while also believing states should independently compete and grow. I had many responsibilities which helped me grow, evolve as a better human being. I will be always grateful to BJP for giving me those opportunities,” he said.
Explaining why he quit the BJP, Annamalai said he had been contemplating the move for nearly one-and-a-half years.
“For nearly one-and-a-half years, I was reflecting on the best way to serve people. I felt we were losing focus. In BJP, I felt, the pathway to leadership in Tamil Nadu was stuck for many people. There was a bit of divergence, vision mismatches. I believe a party should stand on its own legs, cultivate grassroots leaders and put Tamil Nadu first,” he said.
He added that he wanted younger leaders to emerge and believed the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit required a clearer long-term direction.
On what he described as the “vision mismatches” with the BJP, Annamalai said one of his principal concerns was centralised decision-making.
“The first was decision-making. Tamil people feel decisions are made from Delhi. For the sake of Tamil Nadu, I don’t think that is good politics. Second, I wanted Tamil Nadu to get the attention it deserves. Third, each state individually should have strong regional grassroots leaders, so that India remains strong as a plural nation. I have no complaints against BJP, but I often felt constrained. I now want to build a movement where social justice and pluralism are central,” he said.
Annamalai revealed that the idea of launching a new political movement began taking shape during his fellowship at Oxford University in September-November 2024.
“My fellowship in Oxford in Sept-Oct-Nov 2024 gave a lot of time for me to look politics from an academic perspective. I spent time studying democracies across the world and reflecting on why young political movements are growing. The period after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections gave me time to think deeply about the future of politics. I felt my time was up in a national policy framework,” he said.
According to Annamalai, he discussed his thoughts with the BJP leadership in December 2025, but the party felt it was not the right time for him to leave. Eventually, on 1 June, he informed the leadership that he intended to part ways.
“I said politely that I disagreed with their viewpoints. So, it’s better for me to go and create something independent with a group of people,” he said.
He also described his final discussions with the BJP leadership, stating that he wanted to leave the party “with dignity.”
“I continue to respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders. I had long discussions with the leadership. I said, when I want to walk out, I want to walk out with dignity. I will not write an email or issue a statement from Tamil Nadu. So, my resignation has to be accepted. And that is why the party has also accepted my resignation. Then I walked out. Of course, they tried to persuade me to stay, but I argued my case,” he said.
Rejecting suggestions that actor-turned-Chief Minister Vijay’s rise influenced his decision, Annamalai said he had always welcomed new entrants into politics.
“No. I have always supported new people entering politics. Sometimes you need a cult or a cinema star with a very strong cinematic sense to break certain things that were holding politics back — money power, caste equations. I am very happy that Vijay’s TVK has broken that. Charisma, however, can only take politics so far. Tamil Nadu needs governance centric, evidence-based leaders coming, getting elected, standing before people and taking politics to the next level,” he said.
Annamalai reiterated that since 2022 he had consistently maintained that the BJP should grow independently in Tamil Nadu and preserve its distinct political identity.
“My position was clear from 2022. I believed BJP should grow independently in Tamil Nadu and maintain its own identity. I never supported AIADMK coming in. Then the party, which wanted me to contest, couldn’t find me a seat. I obeyed the party as a karyakarta, but over time I felt strategic mistakes accumulated. Tamil Nadu politics, in my view, cannot be driven by decisions taken far away from the state,” he said.
Assessing the recent Assembly election, Annamalai attributed Vijay’s victory primarily to strong anti-incumbency against the DMK.
“Anti-incumbency against DMK was so strong, one of the reasons for Vijay’s victory. The groundwork against DMK govt had already been laid. I expected Vijay to do well, though I did not expect such a large vote share. Kongu region gave him a major late surge that proved decisive,” he said.
Asked why the DMK lost power, Annamalai replied, “The DMK govt was very corrupt. It was perceived to be corrupt and felt to be corrupt.”
Despite political differences with the TVK government, Annamalai said the new administration should be given time to govern.
“Give Vijay one year. He is new to governance and deserves time to establish himself. We can offer constructive criticism and guidance, but he should be allowed the space to govern,” he said.
Commenting on allegations of post-election horse-trading, Annamalai criticised the prevailing political culture.
“The moment you see power, you forsake all principles. It shows what level the root is rotten in Tamil Nadu politics. People who campaigned against Vijay suddenly joined him after the election. Such developments hurt democratic culture and force unnecessary by-elections,” he said.
On AIADMK’s defeat, Annamalai argued that political parties must evolve with changing voter expectations.
“The writing is on the wall. Leaders have to adapt, change to circumstance, be more flexible, have this proper spirit of friendship and cooperation and alliance. The voter profile has changed. Young voters think differently. Politics has changed, political parties have to change, otherwise they are doomed,” he said.
Explaining the philosophy behind “We, The Leaders,” Annamalai said the movement would promote evidence-based governance, institutional reforms and leadership renewal.
“I want politics that is evidence-based, governance-focused and positive. We will have term limits, age limits and post limits. Politics should not revolve around one leader for decades. It should be a movement that continuously renews itself with younger leaders and fresh ideas. Politics should be a free flow of ideas and a movement. Like our old Tamil saying, ‘Pazhaiyana Kazhithalaum, Puthiyana Puguthalum’, the old order changes, yielding place to new. Annamalai right now, 20 years from now Annamalai will be stale,” he said.
He also maintained that national parties, including the BJP, do not fully understand Tamil Nadu’s political and cultural landscape.
“Yes, 100%. National parties don’t speak language of Tamil Nadu. That is my very genuine criticism of all parties, including BJP. Language is not merely translation. It is culture, social fabric and understanding how a state functions,” he said.
Speaking about his future relationship with the BJP leadership, Annamalai said his interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah would remain cordial but would no longer be personal.
“This is an independent organisation. We will support India’s foreign policy and national security interests irrespective of who is in power. Relationships (with Modi and Amit Shah) will continue to remain civilised relationship, but not a friendly relationship,” he said.
Rejecting speculation that his new movement was backed by either the BJP or the RSS, Annamalai said his decision to quit the BJP had come at considerable personal cost.
“I disagree. By leaving BJP, I had more to lose than gain. My future actions and the conduct of this movement will be the best answer to such speculation,” he said.
Annamalai said “We, The Leaders” is not yet a political party and will not contest by-elections.
“Byelections is not our game. It is for somebody doing murky dealings. For a movement to become a political party, it’s a process. We currently have nearly 19 lakh members. Once we reach 50 lakh members, we can begin a political conversation. We want to launch Abdul Kalam fellowship for young political leaders, groom them, guide them for a year, take care of their expenses, give them that financial freedom to go to grassroots, experience the joy of service,” he said.
Asked whether his ultimate ambition was to become Chief Minister, Annamalai said leadership should not revolve around a single individual.
“I do not think politics should revolve around one person. If there is somebody better suited for a role, that person should take it… We want to bring a change to this culture. Probably, people will like it and give us an opportunity, come 2031 or whenever election happens,” he said.
He also ruled out the possibility of an alliance with another political party at present.
“As of now I don’t see that we will merge with somebody, mingle with somebody, have a deal with somebody, an alliance with somebody. It is a difficult path, but we want to offer a genuinely fresh political alternative,” he said.
Asked who he regarded as his political enemy, Annamalai replied, “Bad political culture is our enemy. We want politics centred on ordinary people and democratic values.”
On the possibility of aligning with Vijay in the future, Annamalai said, “We are against any degrading political culture. We are very different from TVK. We are very different from Vijay’s model of politics.”
Annamalai also disclosed that he had played an active role in bringing TTV Dhinakaran and O. Panneerselvam into the NDA.
“I am one person, who continuously pushed for Dhinakaran and Panneerselvam to be a part of an extended NDA. Dhinakaran is a person with whom I share valuable friendship. It is unfortunate what happened to OPS. That will always haunt me. It was one of the saddest days of my life. I made my misgivings very clear to the party when OPS joined DMK,” he said.
He further claimed that a BJP-AIADMK-TVK alliance would have benefited the DMK electorally.
“If AIADMK-BJP-TVK alliance had happened, I would say DMK would have come back to power. This election showed that people saw chemistry more than arithmetic,” he said.
Responding to remarks that he had been an “experiment” for the BJP, Annamalai said the party alone could evaluate that experiment.
“That is for BJP to say. I can very proudly say Annamalai was always Annamalai within BJP. I remained a strong nationalist and someone committed to making Tamil Nadu number one,” he said.
Asked if he regretted leaving the BJP after the party invested heavily in him, he replied, “No regrets. I gave my best to BJP and BJP gave me opportunities. I think it’s a fair compromise where the party gave me an opportunity and I also did my best as a karyakartha.”
On his identity, Annamalai said, “I am an Indian first always. But I am proud to be a Tamilian. I have lived and worked across India and always put my Indian identity first. At the same time, I want Tamil Nadu to become the best-performing state in the country.”
Looking ahead, he concluded, “I honestly do not know. What matters is that people should see We, The Leaders as a movement building a healthy political culture and laying the foundation for a better future for Tamil Nadu.”
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