Annamalai’s Position Intact, Tamil Nadu BJP Likely To Follow 'Telangana Model' And Push AIADMK To Third Place

Following the Lok Sabha election results, speculations began circulating about the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) strategy for the 2026 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

Three major questions emerged: Would the BJP continue with K Annamalai as state president, induct him into the Union cabinet, or consider forming an alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)?

These questions arose mainly because of the party's inability to win a single seat in spite of a rise in vote share (the BJP secured a vote share of around 11 per cent) and a huge investment in time and energy by the top party leadership.

A common hypothesis was that an alliance between the BJP and AIADMK would have prevented a clean sweep by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led alliance and ensured that the BJP would have won a few seats.

S P Velumani, an AIADMK strongman from Coimbatore, went to the extent of saying that an alliance of the two parties would have won up to 35 seats. It was however later dismissed as his personal opinion by the party's organising secretary, D Jayakumar.

Then came the news that Annamalai had sought permission to go to the UK for a three-month fellowship.

It recharged speculations over the leadership of the BJP state unit and whether the party would allow the UK visit during what would be a critical time for laying the foundation of the 2026 campaign.

However, it's now clear that Annamalai has been granted permission and the party is not appointing a replacement during the period of his absence. He will discharge his functions with the help of other office bearers.

As per a report by Dinamalar, which was based on conversations with people within the party, the BJP seems to have firmed up its strategy for the state. Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly told Annamalai during a meeting in Delhi to work on pushing the AIADMK to the third place, like what happened with the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) in Telangana.

The BRS, which ruled the state since 2014, failed to win a single seat in the Lok Sabha election. It also lost the perception battle as the polls were seen mainly as a fight between the Congress and the BJP. While the Congress and the BJP won eight seats each, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen won one seat.

What Shah is reportedly advising has already transpired in seats like South Chennai, Chennai Central, Coimbatore, and Madurai. The AIADMK was also pushed to the fourth position in a seat like Kanyakumari. 

It appears therefore that the party has once again decided to put faith in the leadership of Annamalai and adopt the strategy of fighting the election without an alliance with the AIADMK, something that Annamalai has been a strong votary of, in spite of some senior leaders in the party thinking otherwise.

Also Read: Did Amit Shah Warn Tamilisai Soundarajan About Her Comments On AIADMK Alliance?