Is Annamalai to blame for BJP's big loss in Tamil Nadu? Party leaders turn on state chief after election disaster

Within the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, discontent has been growing, with several second-rung leaders voicing strong opinions about state party president K. Annamalai's 'miscalculated' strategies. As per a TOI report, These leaders believe that Annamalai's approach led to the AIADMK breaking ties with the BJP, resulting in significant losses for the party.

On Thursday, K. Annamalai, the BJP state president, stated that the AIADMK had been rejected by the people. He ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the primary Dravidian party in the 2026 assembly elections, as long as he remains in charge.

Some BJP members think that an alliance with the AIADMK for the Lok Sabha polls could have been a game-changer, potentially boosting Narendra Modi's overall tally, which is currently below the majority mark. Annamalai's decision to sideline the AIADMK to promote BJP's growth has not been well-received by all party members.


In the recent elections, the BJP secured fourth place in Nagapattinam and lost its deposit in 11 out of the 23 constituencies it contested. This included losing deposits for its ally IJK in Perambalur. Other allies, such as PMK, TMC, and AMMK, also lost their security deposits in 10 seats for failing to secure the required one-sixth of the votes polled.

A senior BJP functionary, who requested anonymity, told TOI, "The unilateral decision of the leadership not to align with AIADMK has backfired on us." Senior leaders have privately expressed concerns about the BJP IT cell's reaction to opinions against the state leadership.

Kalyan Raman, the BJP state intellectual cell in-charge, criticised Annamalai on social media, accusing him of misleading the central leadership. Raman described the election results as a "significant loss of face in the public eye, poor perception management, and a pathetic political misadventure."

Speaking to the Times of India, Raman stated that he was expressing "hard truth" and criticised the party's "war room" for creating a myth around Annamalai as if he were a divine figure, while in reality, he was not.

Inputs from TOI