Nainar Nagenthran to be 13th Tamil Nadu BJP president

Mr. Nagenthran was the only person to file nominations for the post of the party’s State president

BJP Legislature Party Leader and former Minister (AIADMK) Nainar Nagenthran is set to become the 13^th president of the Tamil Nadu BJP.

Mr. Nagenthran was the only person to file nominations for the post of the party’s State president. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in a tweet on Friday (April 11, 2025) evening: “The Tamil Nadu BJP has received a nomination for the post of state president only from Shri @NainarBJP Ji.”

Commending the outgoing BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai, he said: “As the President of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, Shri @annamalai_k Ji has made commendable accomplishments. Whether it is carrying the policies of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji to people or the programs of the party from village to village, Annamalai Ji’s contribution has been unprecedented. The BJP will leverage Annamalai Ji’s organizational skills in the party’s national framework.”

Mr. Nagenthran’s elevation gains significance as the BJP is on the verge of forging an alliance with the AIADMK. The 64-year-old leader, who was previously with the AIADMK, joined the BJP in August 2017.

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh announced in Kamalalayam, the party’s State headquarters, that: “We have received nominations for the post of State president from Nainar Nagenthran, proposed by K. Annamalai, L. Murugan, Pon. Radhakrishnan, H. Raja, Vanathi Srinivasan, V.P. Duraisamy, Kanagasabapathy, Pon. V. Balaganapathy, K..P. Ramalingam, and Narayanan Thirupathy.”

Political career

Mr. Nagendran was first elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2001 from the Tirunelveli seat as an AIADMK candidate.

During the AIADMK regime (2001-06), headed by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, he was appointed Minister and held the portfolios of Transport, Industries, and Electricity. Though he was elected from the same seat in 2011, when the AIADMK captured power again, he was not given ministership. He lost the seat by a narrow margin of a few hundred votes in both the 2006 and 2016 Assembly elections.

Months after Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016, Mr. Nagenthran joined the BJP. In 2021, he was elected again from the seat as a BJP nominee and was appointed the Legislature Party Leader in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Mr. Nagenthran also contested unsuccessfully from Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 and 2024 general elections, respectively.

Published - April 11, 2025 03:29 pm IST