Annamalai Episode: A Breakup That Still Sounds Like a Deal
There are men in Indian politics who rise by building parties, and others who rise by becoming the party’s problem. Annamalai belongs to the second category. A former IPS officer, turned BJP’s Tamil Nadu experiment, turned inconvenient question mark, he has now reportedly resigned from the party. But in Indian politics, resignation is rarely an exit. It is usually an announcement that one is still available, just under different management. He entered the BJP about five to seven years ago with the confidence of a man who believes ideology is enough to rearrange geography. Tamil Nadu, however, is not easily rearranged. It has its own stubborn grammar called Dravidian politics, written by DMK and AIADMK over decades, and it does not accept corrections from newcomers, however well-meaning or well-uniformed they once were. In 2021, Annamalai led the BJP’s campaign. The party lost. He lost. The idea also lost, though it continued politely insisting it had "increased vote share." I...
