Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai has flared up a political furore in the party's alliance with the ADMK by stating that he would resign from his post had the BJP allied with the ADMK in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. His statement has come amidst an exodus in the BJP unit where several functionary of the IT wing quit the party and join ADMK. 

Speaking at a meeting with BJP functionaries in Chennai on Friday, Annamalai went on to say that BJP won't join hands with any of the Dravidian parties in any election. He said that the party will grow if it contests alone in Tamil Nadu and that BJP doesn't want to face the polls with the support of any Dravidian party in the upcoming elections. 

He said that he would resign his post as Tamil Nadu BJP President and would continue as a party cadre if the party decides to ally with ADMK in the elections. Furthermore, he said that he had sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak about his points of not allying with any Dravidian parties in the state. It is pertinent to note that he has made this statement even after the Central BJP leadership asked the state unit to observe amity with ADMK. 

Annamalai had changed his tone within a week as earlier this week, he said that the ADMK is a senior party in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and assured that BJP's alliance with ADMK is intact. His remarks have sparked political furore within the BJP as senior leaders including party's MLA Vanathi Srinivasan had dissented against Annamalai's statement. 

It has been reported that Tamil Nadu BJP vice president Narayanan Tirupati had asked Annamalai to give an explanation for his speech while senior leader Nainar Nagendran distanced himself from Annamalai's remarks by stating that whatever Annamalai said is his own statement and not of the party's. Nagendran said that the central leadership will decide about the alliance.