Annamalai's new political movement: 'He cannot match Vijay's appeal'

Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai’s newly launched political movement is likely to have only a limited impact, as actor-politician Vijay has already captured much of the youth vote and the space for political change in the state, senior journalist Rangaraj said. He also suggested that one theory being discussed is whether the BJP itself encouraged Annamalai to chart an independent path to attract younger voters whom the party has struggled to reach.

Also read: K Annamalai quits BJP: New party motto to Tamil identity, everything he said

Annamalai resigned from the party and announced a new political movement aimed at training grassroots citizens to enter politics. The Federal spoke to Rangaraj about Annamalai’s political future, his legacy within the BJP, and the prospects of his newly launched movement.

How do you view the launch of Annamalai’s new political movement?

I think it will have only a limited impact because TVK has already attracted a large section of youth, particularly those below 40 years of age. Apparently, some people in the BJP and those close to Annamalai feel that something must be done to attract young voters, either through the BJP or through his own platform.

We do not know whether this is entirely Annamalai’s own arrangement or whether it is an idea supported by the BJP. The BJP, with its existing ideology, has not been able to make significant inroads in Tamil Nadu. Like Vijay, they may feel there is a need for a different path, perhaps one closer to the Tamil Nadu political mainstream.

It may not be exactly Dravidian, but they may need to move away from the BJP’s ideological moorings if they want to make an impact in the state. The BJP has been on the losing side for more than two decades in Tamil Nadu and remains unable to significantly improve its position.

One theory is that Annamalai himself has been encouraged by the BJP to launch a separate party to challenge the influence of other parties, especially Vijay, among young voters. The thinking may be that Annamalai can attract some youth support and create a dent in TVK’s vote base.

That may be the broader idea. But it is also possible that Annamalai felt constrained within the BJP and therefore decided to launch his own political platform.

Also read: TN CM Vijay's first Cabinet meeting unveils roadmap for 436 projects

Annamalai says he had been considering leaving the BJP for 18 months. What do you make of that?

When he took up the assignment as BJP state president, it appears he had clearly told Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the party should not have any understanding with either the DMK or the AIADMK. He believed the BJP should chart its own course and strengthen its own base over the long term with the aim of eventually coming to power in Tamil Nadu on its own.

However, the BJP leadership preferred alliances with the AIADMK and others in the hope of winning a few parliamentary and Assembly seats. That was a more short-term approach.

From that point onwards, he remained opposed to the high command’s strategy in Tamil Nadu. He has virtually said that such an alliance went against the very reason he accepted the assignment. His position was essentially that if the party wanted alliances, it should find someone else to lead the state unit.

Ever since the BJP and AIADMK came together, Annamalai has kept some distance. During the 2026 Assembly election campaign, he was present, but he was not as energetic as he had been earlier. Even after the campaign, he appeared upset and was not visible at several important meetings.

He clearly had reservations about praising Edappadi K. Palaniswami and projecting him as the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK would also have felt uncomfortable with him, just as Annamalai would have found it difficult to publicly support the AIADMK.

Also read: ‘Will eliminate cult politics’: K Annamalai announces launch of new party

How do you assess Annamalai’s contribution to the BJP in Tamil Nadu?

That perception is largely a myth. When the BJP contested in alliance with the AIADMK, it contested only a limited number of seats.

In later elections, it contested many more seats—three or four times as many. Naturally, the party’s vote share increased. There is no particular Annamalai magic behind the BJP crossing double digits in vote share.

If you examine the votes secured per seat over successive elections, there is not much change from what Annamalai claimed to have achieved in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. In fact, the vote per seat has been declining.

The BJP contested a large number of seats and several candidates from allied groups also contested on the Lotus symbol. As a result, the overall BJP vote share appears larger than it actually is.

If you exclude the votes secured by some of those candidates, the BJP’s actual vote share comes closer to around 9 per cent.

Because the BJP contested far more seats than it did when allied with the AIADMK, both its total votes and vote percentage naturally increased.

This is, by and large, a major myth. The recent Assembly election has exposed the limits of the BJP’s support. Of course, Annamalai argues that the BJP lost votes because of the alliance with the AIADMK. That is his theory.

The reality is that the BJP's growth has only been marginal. That is why one possible strategy may have been to use Annamalai to create a separate political platform that could attract younger voters away from TVK.

Even then, it may have come too late. He cannot match the appeal and attraction that Vijay enjoys as a mass figure.

How do you view Annamalai’s appeal to young voters and his promise of inclusive politics?

He says he wants technocrats, middle-class families, young people and women to join politics. He says politics should be inclusive and that there should be no permanent leaders, permanent MLAs or permanent ministers.

But that raises a question. Will his own party be permanent? Will he himself remain its leader? If anyone can become a leader, then why should it necessarily be Annamalai?

There are many vague and grey areas in what he is proposing. There is no clarity regarding his ideology or his approach to Tamil Nadu politics.

He must clearly spell out his position on major issues affecting Tamil Nadu and explain how he intends to differ from the BJP.

People will closely watch whether he continues to follow the BJP line on key issues or whether he charts an independent path.

At the moment, his launch appears confusing and lacks clarity about what his political approach in Tamil Nadu will actually be.

With this move, has Annamalai lost a major platform, or has the BJP lost an energetic young leader?

The BJP is caught in its own web of caste-based and group-based politics in Tamil Nadu.

It has often relied on caste calculations, whereas Annamalai tried to project a different approach focused on fieldwork and grassroots strengthening.

However, he faced limitations because the party itself has limitations in Tamil Nadu in terms of its appeal and approach. The BJP’s ideology may have been a hindrance for him.

At the same time, if he moves too far away from BJP ideology and embraces a Dravidian framework, he may not make much impact either because there are already several parties occupying that space.

The key question is what new political offering he can bring to the people of Tamil Nadu.

There are limited options available to him. Vijay has already captured much of the demand for political change among young voters and among people with purchasing power who want to participate in politics.

Vijay has succeeded in attracting educated, well-read young people, including those working in the IT sector. His support base extends beyond just his fan following.

He has already covered considerable ground among these sections.

If Annamalai wants to make a dent in that vote base, he will have to significantly alter his approach. That is going to be very difficult.

(The content above has been transcribed from video using a fine-tuned AI model. To ensure accuracy, quality, and editorial integrity, we employ a Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) process. While AI assists in creating the initial draft, our experienced editorial team carefully reviews, edits, and refines the content before publication. At The Federal, we combine the efficiency of AI with the expertise of human editors to deliver reliable and insightful journalism.)