With K Annamalai, the BJP’s popular face in Tamil Nadu and its former state chief, keen to quit the party and chart his own course, the party central leadership is learnt to have asked for time to take a call on his proposed resignation.

Annamalai, who met BJP national president Nitin Nabin and party national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh on Tuesday morning, had a separate meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the afternoon, party sources said. Santhosh is considered to be his mentor.

In his meetings with top BJP leaders, Annamalai expressed his desire to leave the party on a cordial note while keeping the option of working closely with it in future if required, sources said.

According to party leaders familiar with the developments, Annamalai was called back for discussions while being on his way to the Delhi airport to leave for Chennai.

It is learnt that the BJP leadership wants Annamalai to reconsider his decision to resign from the party’s primary membership. If the leadership manages to convince him to remain in the party, it would be an unusual move, considering its record on enforcing strict organisational discipline.

The Indian Express on Monday reported that Annamalai had made up his mind to quit the BJP and that his Delhi visit was intended as a “gesture of gratitude” to the party leadership.

Annamalai had asked the BJP top brass to reinstate him as the Tamil Nadu unit chief with long-term autonomy and authority for at least seven years, or allow him to pursue a different political path.

Sources said Annamalai is mulling over launching a new party in the state, where the Dravidian majors, the DMK and the AIADMK, faced a debacle in the recent Assembly polls, in which superstar-turned-politician Vijay led his fledgling TVK to a stunning win on its debut.

The TVK has formed the government with the support extended by smaller parties including the Congress, which broke its alliance with the former incumbent DMK after the elections.

Annamalai has argued that there is still no significant scope for a national party in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, hence a new party addressing the concerns of various sections has the potential to grow as an alternative force in the state, sources said.

However, Annamalai would not want to end his association with the BJP on a bitter note, preferring to have a “healthy political rivalry with it marked with respect”, a source said.

In his tenure as the state BJP chief during 2021-25, Annamalai had increased the visibility of the BJP and often succeeded in setting the narrative. The BJP central leaders acknowledged his “energy, hard work and ability to be a strong voice” in the state, where the party has been struggling to make its mark.