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Kuppusamy Annamalai (born 4 June 1984), known as K. Annamalai, is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party and former Indian Police Service officer employed with the Karnataka State Police from 2011 until his resignation in 2019. He served as the state president of the BJP - Tamil Nadu unit from July 2021 to April 2025, during which he became known for rising visibility and prominence of the party in the state. He unsuccessfully contested the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election from Aravakurichi and 2024 Lok Sabha election from Coimbatore.
Annamalai was born on 4 June 1984 in Karur district, Tamil Nadu. He is an alumni of PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, where he completed his graduation in Mechanical Engineering, and the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, where he completed his Master of Business Administration. In 2011, he cleared the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.
Annamalai joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in the 2011 batch under the Karnataka cadre. During his police career, he served as Superintendent of Police in Udupi and Chikmagalur districts, and was later posted as Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Bengaluru. He was popularly referred as "Singham" () due to his policing style. He resigned in May 2019.
Annamalai joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in August 2020 and was appointed a vice-president of the BJP Tamil Nadu unit within weeks of joining the party. On 8 July 2021, he was appointed the President of BJP's Tamil Nadu unit, succeeding L. Murugan. His tenure as state president coincided with an increased visibility of the BJP in Tamil Nadu's political discourse, even as the party continued to face electoral setbacks in the state. In July 2023, Annamalai launched the "En Mann, En Makkal" () padayatra with the aim of visiting all of the legislative assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, which culminated in February 2024 with an event attended by Narendra Modi. He stepped down from the post of state unit president in April 2025.
Taking on the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over corruption, Annamalai released a series of audio recordings as DMK Files, which showed statements linking senior DMK figures, including ex-finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and relatives of CM M. K. Stalin to large-scale financial misconduct, and also corruption cases on DMK ministers such as Senthil Balaji and K. Ponmudy, making the party file defamation cases against him. The DMK issued a legal notice to Annamalai seeking an unconditional apology and â¹500 crore in damages, alleging that his statements were false, laughable, defamatory, to gain personal and political mileage without any basis or evidence. Despite the allegations in the DMK Files there is no credible report or official record of an FIR, ED/CBI inquiry, or prosecution launched against DMK leaders specifically in relation to the allegations outlined by Annamalai.
In March 2023, a case was registered by the Tamil Nadu PoliceâÂÂs cyber crime wing against Annamalai in connection with his social media post alleging attacks on North Indian migrant workers in Tamil Nadu under DMK government. Later, the Tamil Nadu and Bihar governments stated that the reports of attacks were unfounded and cautioned against the circulation of misinformation by him.
During his tenure as president, Annamalai's repeated remarks on alliance party AIADMK's ideology and its leaders, including C. N. Annadurai and J. Jayalalithaa, caused the party to withdraw from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September 2023. Following defeats of both parties in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK leaders maintained that Annamalai's approach towards alliance partners had led to the defeats.
Supporters within party have credited Annamalai as expanding the party's activity in the state dominated by Dravidian parties, while former allies have argued that it strained coalition relationships. Political analysts noted that Annamalai's leadership was inclined on pursuing independent growth for BJP rather than relying on alliances.
During protests following the 2024 Anna University sexual assault case, Annamalai engaged in act of self-flagellation as a form of protest, drawing public and media attention to concerns over law and order under DMK. He vowed to remove DMK from power and took an oath to abstain from wearing footwear and to fast for 48 days until the ruling DMK is removed from power. On 13 April 2026, following the request of the new BJP state president and his successor, Nainar Nagendran, he resumed wearing footwear.
On 22 December 2022, Annamalai faced criticism from political opponents over a luxury âÂÂRafaleâ special edition wristwatch reportedly worth over â¹5 lakh. Critics questioned how he could afford the watch, sought proof of purchase, and also raised concerns over his references to nationalism given that the watch was manufactured in France. After four months, in April 2023, Annamalai released a purchase bill for the watch.
In July 2025, K. Annamalai purchased agricultural land near Coimbatore, reported to be up to . Political opponents alleged that the property was registered at the government guideline value rather than the higher market value. Annamalai denied any wrongdoing, stating that the purchase was funded through personal savings and loans, and that applicable stamp duty and registration charges, reported to be over â¹40 lakh, were duly paid.
In April 2025, Annamalai was changed from state president post with reports that the decision was taken by the BJP to mend ties with AIADMK. He was succeeded by Nainar Nagendran, who was former AIADMK minister. He continued to make public statements and participate in party activities. He criticises DMK on issues of law and order deterioration.
Annamalai's meeting with AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran in mid-2025, raised speculation about realignments, though he stated that he had no plans to float separate political party and remained committed to the BJP.
For 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, he was assigned BJP's incharge for six constituencies, but later stepped down due to personal reasons. He was set to contest from Singanallur Assembly constituency, with reports that he may be planning to withdraw from this contest. He expressed strong displeasure to the partyâÂÂs national leadership over the constituencies allotted by the AIADMK for the 2026 Assembly election.
As Tamil Nadu BJP president, Annamalai participated in several international political and diaspora-related events. He visited Sri Lanka in 2022 and 2023, where he met with Sri Lankan lawmakers, Ceylon Tamils, representatives of NGOs and political leaders. During these visits, he insisted upon IndiaâÂÂs position on the implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution and raised concerns related to the welfare of Tamil communities.
In 2023, Annamalai took part in the Young Leaders Forum: UK-India Week 2023, organized by the India Global Forum at The Nehru Centre, London for promoting IndiaâÂÂUK bilateral ties. He also led a four-member delegation from BJP in India, participating in BRICS Political Parties Plus Dialogue Summit (BRICS-PPPDS) held at Johannesburg, South Africa.
In 2024, Annamalai participated in Chevening Fellowship programme for Leadership and Excellence at University of Oxford.
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Annamalai was born to Kuppusamy and Parameshwari on 4 June 1984 in Thottampatti village of Karur district, Tamil Nadu. He is married to Akhila Swaminathan, and has one son.
His interests were in organic farming, and to pursue an agrarian lifestyle before entering politics. He was also associated with establishment of initiatives such as "We the Leaders" Foundation.