Who Is Nainar Nagendran? New Tamil Nadu BJP Chief Replacing K Annamalai

Chennai: BJP MLA from Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli constituency, Nainar Nagendran has been announced the new state unit chief of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), succeeding K Annamalai. Confirming the development, Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on X: “The Tamil Nadu BJP has received a nomination for the post of state president only from Shri Nainar Nagendran," signaling his appointment as the next Tamil Nadu BJP chief.

The announcement comes at a time when union Home Minister Amit Shah is present in Chennai.

Who Is Nainar Nagendran?

Nainar Nagendran was the sole contestant in the race for the top post.
Nagendran, till now held the post of state vice president since 2020 and is also BJP's legislative party leader in the assembly. He was formerly with the AIADMK, with which the BJP has now officially announced an alliance for the 2026 state polls.

He joined the saffron party in 2017. Nagendran served as the state transport minister of Tamil Nadu from 19 May 2001 to 12 May 2006. Nagendran won the Tamil Nadu assembly elections from the Tirunelveli constituency in 2006 and 2011 as an AIADMK candidate and as a BJP candidate in 2021. Nagendran won from the seat for the third time in 2021, defeating the DMK candidate by a margin of 23,107 votes. He joined the BJP after the death of  Jayalalithaa’s death. Nagendran is the Seniormost MLA among the four lawmakers that the BJP has in the state assembly.

His name was proposed by the incumbent chief K Annamalai, Union Minister L Murugan, former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, and BJP legislator and Mahila Morcha President Vanathi Srinivasan.