Nainar Nagendran to lead BJP's Tamil Nadu unit; Annamalai set for national role

Chennai, April 11 (IANS) BJP Legislature Party Leader and former Minister Nainar Nagendran is set to become the 13th President of the Tamil Nadu BJP. His appointment comes as part of a significant reshuffle within the party’s state and national leadership.

The announcement was made by BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh at Kamalalayam, the party’s state headquarters.

Chugh stated: "We have received nominations for the post of State President from Nainar Nagendran, proposed by K. Annamalai, L. Murugan, Pon Radhakrishnan, H. Raja, Vanathi Srinivasan, V.P. Duraisamy, Kanagasabapathy, Pon V. Balaganapathy, K.P. Ramalingam, and Narayanan Thirupathy.”

Nagendran was the sole nominee for the post, effectively confirming his unopposed elevation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also acknowledged the development.

In a social media post, he wrote: “The Tamil Nadu BJP has received a nomination for the post of State President only from Shri @NainarBJP Ji.”

HM Shah lauded outgoing state President K. Annamalai for his contributions, stating: “As the President of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, Shri @annamalai_k Ji has made commendable accomplishments. Whether in communicating PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s policies to the people or in taking the party’s programmes to every village, Annamalai Ji’s work has been unprecedented. His organizational skills will now be utilised at the national level.”

Nagendran’s elevation comes at a crucial time as the BJP inches closer to an alliance with the AIADMK.

The 64-year-old leader has deep roots in Tamil Nadu politics.

Initially a senior AIADMK leader, he was first elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from the Tirunelveli constituency in 2001. During the AIADMK government under Jayalalithaa (2001–2006), he served as Minister for Transport, Industries, and Electricity.

He won re-election in 2011 but was not included in the Cabinet. He narrowly lost the seat in the 2006 and 2016 Assembly elections.

After Jayalalithaa's death in 2016, Nagendran joined the BJP and reclaimed Tirunelveli in the 2021 Assembly polls as a BJP candidate.

He was then appointed Legislature Party Leader in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Nagendran also contested the Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully from Ramanathapuram in 2019 and from Tirunelveli in 2024.

--IANS

aal/pgh