Have not received any resignation letter from Annamalai: Nainar Nagenthran

Days after BJP former State president K. Annamalai met the party’s national leadership to convey his decision to exit the party, BJP Tamil Nadu president Nainar Nagenthran on Thursday (June 4, 2026) said he had not received any resignation letter from Mr. Annamalai.

Asked about reports that Mr. Annamalai would soon float his own political outfit after resigning from the BJP, Mr. Nagenthran told journalists at his residence in Palayamkottai that the former BJP State president had not [publicly] said anything in this connection.

According to him, only the media was magnifying this issue and making a mountain out of a molehill.

“Mr. Annamalai, who is still discussing personal and familial matters with me, has not said anything about quitting the BJP. He was flying in a special chopper for electioneering in the recently concluded Assembly election. We have no difference of opinion,” Mr. Nagenthran said.

On Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s performance so far, he said there was no difference between the previous DMK administration and the present TVK government, as more than 25 cases of sexual assault on women and 15 murders had been reported in the past 23 days. Banned narcotic substances like ganja were easily available everywhere. Like under the DMK government, an additional ₹10 per liquor bottle was being collected in Tasmac shops, he said.

He came down heavily on Mr. Vijay for his caustic comments against the Opposition.

“While the Opposition parties have the right to criticise the government based on its performance, the ruling party, too, has every right to deny the charges being levelled against it. However, the Chief Minister, while responding to the accusations of political opponents, should not utter objectionable words as he did while addressing a public meeting in Tiruchi recently,” Mr. Nagenthran said.

The former MLA said the alleged theft of the hard disk containing details of a ₹400 crore-worth contract of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation from its headquarters showed the present regime’s inefficiency.

On the TVK’s decision to give the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Tamil Nadu to the Congress, Mr. Nagenthran said the ruling party could be the proxy of the Congress.

“The horse trading by the TVK has imposed unnecessary byelection on the voters, who elected their representatives only a month ago. People are very much upset over this kind of politics,” he said.