K Annamalai, the former top cop and BJP leader known as 'Singham', has been left out of the party's list of candidates for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
Despite being the face of the BJP's aggressive push into Tamil Nadu politics, Annamalai has been replaced by senior leaders like Tamilisai Soundararajan and Vanathi Srinivasan.
A year ago, Nainar Naginthiran replaced Annamalai as the state BJP chief, and now Annamalai has been left out of the party's list of candidates for the April 23 elections.
Annamalai has consistently maintained a stoic public stance and has said that he has decided against contesting this time, but reports suggest that he had insisted on contesting from Singanallur or Koundampalayam constituencies.
The BJP will contest 27 seats in the state, while the AIADMK leads the NDA alliance and will contest 169 seats.
Tamil Nadu votes in a single phase on April 23, and the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
As for Annamalai, the former IPS officer resigned from his job and joined the BJP in 2020 and became closely associated with PM Narendra Modi's outreach in the South.
However, the 2021 Tamil Nadu election results were a humbling reality check for the BJP, and Annamalai stepped down as the state BJP head to bring back the AIADMK into the NDA fold in April 2025.
