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K Annamalai | |
|---|---|
 Annamalai in 2024 | |
| President of theBharatiya Janata Party – Tamil Nadu | |
| In office 16 July 2021 – 11 April 2025 | |
| National President | J. P. Nadda |
| Preceded by | L. Murugan |
| Succeeded by | Nainar Nagendran |
| Vice-President of theBharatiya Janata Party – Tamil Nadu | |
| In office 29 August 2020 – 7 July 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Annamalai Kuppusamy (1984-06-04)June 4, 1984 (age 41) |
| Party |  Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Akhila Swaminathan |
| Alma mater | |
| Police career | |
| Country |  India |
| Allegiance | Indian Police Service |
| Department | Karnataka Police |
| Service years | 2011-2019 |
| Rank | Deputy Commissioner of Police |
| Batch | 2011 |
| Cadre | Karnataka |
Kuppusamy Annamalai (born 4 June 1984), commonly known asK. Annamalai, is anIndian politician and formerIndian Police Service (IPS) officer who served as theTamil Nadu state president of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from July 2021 to April 2025.
He contested the2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election fromAravakurichi and2024 Lok Sabha election fromCoimbatore, but did not win either contest.
Annamalai was born on 4 June 1984 inKarur district,Tamil Nadu.[1]
He is an alumni ofPSG College of Technology,Coimbatore and theIndian Institute of Management, Lucknow.[2]
In 2024, Annamalai participated inChevening Fellowship programme for Leadership and Excellence atUniversity of Oxford.[3]
Annamalai joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in the 2011 batch under the Karnataka cadre. During his police career, he served asSuperintendent of Police inUdupi andChikmagalur districts, and was later posted as Deputy Commissioner of Police (South),Bengaluru. He was popularly referred as "Singham" (transl. Lion) due to his policing style. He resigned in May 2019.[4]
Annamalai joined theBharatiya Janata Party in August 2020 and was appointed a vice-president of theBJP Tamil Nadu unit within weeks of joining the party.[5] On 8 July 2021, he was appointed the President of BJP's Tamil Nadu unit, succeedingL. Murugan.[1] His tenure as state president coincided with an increased visibility of the BJP in Tamil Nadu's political discourse, even as the party continued to face electoral setbacks in the state.[6][7] In July 2023, Annamalai launched the "En Mann, En Makkal" (transl. Our soil, our people)padayatra with the aim of visiting all of the legislative assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, which culminated in February 2024 with an event attended byNarendra Modi.[8][9] He stepped down from the post of state unit president in April 2025.[10]
Taking on the rulingDravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over corruption, Annamalai released a series of audio recordings asDMK Files, which showed statements linking senior DMK figures, including ex-finance ministerPalanivel Thiaga Rajan and relatives of CMM. K. Stalin to large-scale financial misconduct, and also corruption cases on DMK ministers such asSenthil Balaji andK. Ponmudy, making the party file defamation cases against him.[9][11]
In March 2023, a case was registered by theTamil Nadu Police’s cyber crime wing against Annamalai in connection with his social media post alleging attacks on North Indian migrant workers in Tamil Nadu under DMK government. Later, theTamil Nadu andBihar governments stated that the reports of attacks were unfounded and cautioned against the circulation of misinformation.[12]
During his tenure as president, Annamalai's repeated remarks on alliance partyAIADMK's ideology and its leaders, includingC. N. Annadurai andJ. Jayalalithaa, caused the party to withdraw from the BJP-ledNational Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September 2023.[13] Following defeats of both parties in2024 Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK leaders maintained that Annamalai's approach towards alliance partners had led to the defeats.[14]
Supporters within party have credited Annamalai as expanding the party's activity in the state dominated byDravidian parties, while former allies have argued that it strained coalition relationships.[14][6] Political analysts noted that Annamalai's leadership was inclined on pursuing independent growth for BJP rather than relying on alliances.[13]
During protests following the2024 Anna University sexual assault case, Annamalai engaged in act of self-flagellation as a form of protest, drawing public and media attention to concerns over law and order under DMK, vowing to remove the party from power.[15]
In April 2025, Annamalai stepped down from state president post with reports that the decision was taken by the BJP to mend ties with AIADMK.[16] He continued to make public statements and participate in party activities. He criticised DMK on issues of law and order deterioration.[17]
Annamalai's meetings with AIADMK leadersO. Panneerselvam andT.T.V. Dhinakaran in mid-2025, raised speculation about realignments, though he stated that he had no plans to float separate political party and remained committed to the BJP.[18][19]
He was assigned BJP's in-charge for2026 Tamil Nadu assembly election work in six constituencies, a post which he later stepped down due to personal reasons.[20]
| Elections | Lok Sabha | Constituency | Political party | Result | Vote percentage | Opposition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Political party | Vote percentage | |||||||||
| 2024 | 18th | Coimbatore | BJP | Lost[21] | 32.79% | Ganapathi P. Rajkumar | DMK | 41.39%[22] | |||
| Elections | Assembly | Constituency | Political party | Result | Vote percentage | Opposition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Political party | Vote percentage | |||||||||
| 2021 | 16th | Aravakurichi | BJP | Lost[23] | 38.71% | R. Elango | DMK | 52.72%[24] | |||
Annamalai was born to Kuppusamy and Parameshwari on 4 June 1984. He is married to Akhila Swaminathan, and has one son.[25]
His interests were inorganic farming, and to pursue anagrarian lifestyle before entering politics. He was also associated with establishment of initiatives such as "We the Leaders" Foundation.[26]
| Year | Film | Language | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Arabbie | Kannada | Swimming coach | Cameo appearance[27] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
