Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai clarified on April 4 that he was not denied a ticket for the upcoming state Assembly elections but had chosen not to contest.
Speaking at Chennai airport, he thanked the party leadership for respecting his decision.
Annamalai stated that he had submitted a written communication confirming he would not contest any constituency but would campaign for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). “Yesterday, Prime Minister Modi visited Chennai. After completing his campaign in Puducherry, he is scheduled to meet party functionaries today. Following that, he will travel to Kochi to campaign in support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance candidates. I had already informed the core committee in writing that I would not be contesting in any constituency. Therefore, it is not that I was denied a ticket the truth is that I chose not to contest the election,” he said.
Addressing media speculation, Annamalai added, “Since this has become a topic of discussion in the media, I am clarifying it here. When I did not express any interest in contesting, how could the leadership allocate me a ticket? If I had decided to contest, it wouldn’t have mattered which constituency I could have contested from anywhere. I am grateful to the BJP leadership for respecting my decision and giving me the opportunity to campaign in support of the NDA alliance candidates.”
Speculation had suggested that Annamalai’s absence from the BJP candidate list for the Tamil Nadu elections resulted from the party’s alliance with the AIADMK.
Known as “Singham” for his prior IPS service in Karnataka, Annamalai became the Tamil Nadu BJP president in 2021. He worked to strengthen the party and led initiatives such as the “En Mann, En Makkal” yatra ahead of the 2024 elections.
The BJP and AIADMK had previously split over remarks made by Annamalai about CN Annadurai. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP contested alone, increased its vote share to 11 per cent, but did not win any seats. After this, Annamalai resigned as state president and was succeeded by Nainar Nagendran. The AIADMK and BJP renewed their alliance in 2025.
On April 3, the BJP released its first list of 27 candidates for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections following NDA alliance negotiations. The list, for the April 23, 2026 poll, saw senior leaders such as Tamilisai Soundararajan (Mylapore), Vanathi Srinivasan (Coimbatore North), and Union Minister L Murugan (Avinashi) included, but Annamalai was notably absent.
The AIADMK, leading the NDA bloc, will contest 169 of the 234 seats, while the BJP will contest 27, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) 18, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) 11, Tamil Maanila Congress five, Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK) one, and Puratchi Bharatham one seat.
Tamil Nadu is scheduled to hold its Assembly elections in a single phase on April 23, covering all 234 constituencies. Vote counting will take place on May 4.
The principal contest is expected to be between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) and the NDA led by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Actor-turned-politician Vijay is also expected to make it a three-way contest.