K Annamalai resigns from BJP

K Annamalai quit the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday, with the organisation formally accepting his resignation from its primary membership, ANI reported.

This came amid speculation that Annamalai would set up his own political party.

Annamalai has not yet commented on the matter but had told reporters on Monday that he would speak “freely” about it later.

He resigned from the Hindutva party less than a month after the National Democratic Alliance lost the Assembly elections.

In the election results announced on May 4, actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, on its electoral debut, emerged as the single-largest party in Tamil Nadu. While the party won 108 seats, it fell short of the majority mark of 118 seats in the 234-member Assembly.

The ruling Secular Progressive Alliance, mainly comprising the DMK, the Congress and some Left parties, won 73 seats.

The NDA, mainly comprising the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the BJP, won 53 seats. Of these, the AIADMK won 47 seats and the BJP one.

On May 10, Vijay became the chief minister after the Congress, two Left parties and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi agreed to support his coalition government. This resulted in the first non-DMK, non-AIADMK-led state government in nearly 60 years.

Annamalai served as an Indian Police Service officer between 2011 and 2019, when he voluntarily retired. He joined the...

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