K Annamalai, a former Indian Police Service officer, rose to become the Tamil Nadu BJP president after a brief stint in politics.
He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2020, a time when the party held only 2.6% of the vote share in Tamil Nadu.
In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Annamalai contested from Aravakurichi, but lost to DMK candidate R. Elango.
Despite the loss, Annamalai's campaign was highly visible, with extensive on-ground mobilisation and high-frequency rallies.
After the elections, he was appointed state BJP president and has since led multiple statewide outreach drives and yatras to expand the party's booth-level organisation.
