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Capping his seven-year travel with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), resignation of the party’s former Tamil Nadu main K. Annamalai was formally accepted by enactment main Nitin Nabin connected Friday (June 5, 2026). As efforts to clasp him successful the saffron folds failed, the IPS-turned-politician is acceptable to motorboat his ain determination party. His exit has been agelong successful the making since he egged BJP to divided with AIADMK and contest Lok Sabha polls solo successful 2024.
“No 1 tin enactment a gun to one’s caput and unit a idiosyncratic to remain in a party. I volition enactment if I similar oregon I volition discontinue if I bash not and proceed doing farming,” Mr. Annamalai had proclaimed in November past twelvemonth arsenic BJP rekindled confederation talks with the AIADMK, seven months after Mr. Annamalai was replaced by Nainar Nagendran arsenic BJP Tamil Nadu president.
The past high-profile exit from the BJP was successful November past twelvemonth erstwhile erstwhile Union Minister R.K. Singh was suspended after he criticised the BJP’s prime of candidates for Bihar State elections, pointing retired their transgression inheritance and corruption. After being handed a six-year suspension, Mr. Singh discontinue the party has since past promised to motorboat a Bihar-focused enactment which will comprise ‘honest, educated and caste-free’ individuals.
Through the years, respective high-profile leaders person discontinue the BJP to motorboat their ain parties. A deeper look astatine their travel shows that astir person either disbanded and rejoined the party or merged their outfits with BJP. A fewer person jumped vessel to different parties.
From Jana Sangh to BJP
The genesis of BJP itself is from the split of Janata Party successful 1980. The party’s constituents - Jana Sangh, Congress (O), Socialist Party and Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD), went their abstracted ways aft the poll drubbing in 1980. Refusing to make changes successful the Jana Sangh’s ideological genitor – The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Jana Sangh was refashioned arsenic the Bharatiya Janata Party on April 6, 1980 with Atal Bihari Vajpayee being its archetypal president.
Shankersinh Vaghela (1996)
After BJP sucessfully wrested distant Gujarat from Congress successful 1995, elder BJP person Shankersinh Vaghela rebelled against BJP’s CM prime Keshubhai Patel. With galore MLAs backing Mr. Vaghela arsenic CM, Mr. Patel was replaced by Mr. Suresh Mehta arsenic CM in October 1995. However, the rift successful the BJP continued and Mr. Vaghela rebelled erstwhile again successful September 1996, flying 105 of the 121 BJP MLAs to a edifice successful Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho. The Suresh Mehta authorities was soon dismissed and President’s Rule was imposed successful Gujarat.
Wresting distant 47 MLAs from BJP, Mr. Vaghela formed his ain enactment Rashtriya Janata Party which had the enactment of the Congress. He was sworn successful arsenic Gujarat’s twelfth CM but lasted lone a year. Choosing not to contest the 1998 Gujarat state polls, he promptly merged his outfit with the Congress after the BJP regained power. After almost a decade successful the Congress, Mr. Vaghela rebelled and cross-voted against Congress seasoned Ahmed Patel successful the Rajya Sabha polls successful 2017. He aboriginal discontinue the enactment and founded a caller enactment named Jan Vikalp Morcha, but was not recognised as an authoritative governmental enactment by Election Commission.
After a little stint successful the Nationalist Congress Party, helium launched different outfit named Praja Shakti Democratic Party to contest the 2022 Gujarat elections. However, helium aboriginal bowed retired and chose to backmost Congress instead.
Kalyan Singh (1999)
Overseeing the demolition of the Babri Masjid during his tenure arsenic CM, Kalyan Singh was seen arsenic BJP’s person who would fructify its dream to physique a Ram Mandir successful Ayodhya. However, aft a hung verdict successful the 1997 Uttar Pradesh elections, Mr. Singh was forced to stock powerfulness with BSP main Mayawati, irking factions with the BJP. When the BJP-BSP coalition hit choppy waters betwixt 1998 and 1999, Mr. Singh faced interior revolt from upper-caste BJP MLAs forcing the BJP Central leadership to replace Mr. Singh with Ram Prakash Gupta as CM.
Miffed astatine his ouster, Mr. Singh began vocally critiquing then-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He alleged that the BJP had fixed up the issues it stood for and had been “Congres-sised“ nether Mr. Vajpayee, starring to his expulsion in December 1999. Within days, helium floated his ain outfit ‘Rashtriya Kranti party’ based connected the ideology of Hindutva. His enactment won 4 seats in the 2002 polls and sat successful Opposition with Samajwadi Party (SP). After the BJP-BSP authorities fell successful 2003, Mr. Singh allied with SP with his lad Rajveer Singh joining his long-time nemesis Mulayam Singh Yadav’s cabinet. He jumped vessel backmost to the BJP successful 2004 and merged his outfit with the BJP.
In January 2009, Mr. Singh once again discontinue BJP citing ‘humiliation astatine the hands of enactment brass’ and the enactment countered that it was Mr. Singh’s ‘ideologically opposite’ confederation with SP which drove a wedge. In November 2009, Mr. Yadav blamed SP’s confederation with Mr. Singh for its nonaccomplishment successful the Firozabad Lok Sabha by-election. A miffed Mr. Singh discontinue the alliance, launched different outfit ‘Jan Kranti Party’ and appointed his lad arsenic its president. However, the outfit was disbanded and merged with the BJP in 2013 as the party ramped up its run for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The ex-UP CM rejoined the saffron enactment successful March 2014 astatine a expansive Modi rally successful Lucknow and was subsequently appointed arsenic Governor of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
Uma Bharti (2005)
Known arsenic the ‘fiery sanyasin of Khajuraho’, BJP’s Madhya Pradesh stalwart Uma Bharti archetypal expressed privation to discontinue the enactment successful 1992 amid infighting successful the party’s authorities unit. While then-BJP main L.K. Advani managed to mollify the ‘heroine of Ram Janmabhoomi movement’ to stay successful the saffron folds, Ms. Bharti resigned from her Lok Sabha and the enactment station successful 2000 aft being stiffed for a Union furniture berth. Four years later, she erstwhile again ‘quit politics’ after she was forced to measurement down arsenic Madhya Pradesh CM owed to a non-bailable warrant issued against her in transportation with the 1994 Hubli riots.
As she became a vocal professional of her successor successful MP – CM Babulal Gaur, she was sacked successful November 2004 by Mr. Advani but was re-inducted arsenic BJP’s wide secretary a month later at the instance of RSS apical brass. Inspite of her inclusion successful BJP, Ms. Bharti was not reinstated arsenic CM and continued to obstruction against Mr. Gaur’s successor – Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Her antics led to her expulsion from BJP and founding of the Bharatiya Janshakti Party (BJSP).
Claiming to person the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s support, Ms. Bharti’s outfit failed to reap immoderate governmental dividends arsenic Mr. Chouhan retained the state winning 143 retired of the 230 seats successful the 2008 authorities polls. On the different hand, BJSP won lone five seats and Ms. Bharti began warming towards rejoining BJP. After she was formally inducted back in BJP connected June 7, 2011, the BJSP merged with the BJP later that month. Since then, she has expressed regret for quitting the BJP and has held respective portfolios successful the Modi cabinet. She is presently one of the party’s vice presidents.
Keshubhai Patel (2012)
Miffed astatine his protegee Narendra Modi’s rising stature successful Gujarat, erstwhile CM Keshubhai Patel discontinue the BJP to signifier the Gujarat Parivartan party. Opposing Mr. Modi’s bid to question a 4th word arsenic CM successful 2012, Mr. Patel had alleged that BJP had moved distant from its principles towards idiosyncratic glorification. After his party failed to open its relationship successful the 2013 State polls, helium rejoined the BJP successful 2014 arsenic Mr. Modi moved to Central leadership. Till his decease successful 2020, Mr. Patel remained successful the BJP but discontinue progressive politics.
B.S. Yediyurappa (2012)
Indicted of illegal transaction with mining companies by Lokayukta, BJP’s tallest Lingayat person successful Karnataka – B.S. Yediyurappa was forced to measurement down arsenic Chief Minister connected July 27, 2011 after unit from BJP’s cardinal leadership. After his resignation, Mr. Yediyurappa discontinue the BJP to signifier his ain party Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP). In the 2013 authorities polls, the KJP ate into the BJP’s Lingayat votebank, winning six seats and restricting the saffron enactment to 40.
A thaw betwixt Mr. Yediyurappa and BJP’s cardinal enactment appeared successful September 2013 arsenic Mr. Modi emerged as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial pick. As BJP ramped up its Lok Sabha campaign, Mr. Yediyurappa disbanded KJP successful January 2014 and instrumentality to the saffron party’s fold. Since then, helium has been elected as CM twice and has been elevated to the BJP’s Central Parliamentary board.
Yashwant Sinha (2018)
A Vajpayee seasoned and erstwhile Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha first resigned from enactment posts successful June 2009 aft the BJP failed to stop the UPA authorities from getting re-elected. Taking work for poll-drubbing, helium resigned as BJP’s vice-president and subordinate of the nationalist enforcement committee and urged each enactment workers to resign from their posts truthful that determination could beryllium ‘transparent, interior elections to these posts’. However, he remained a BJP worker.
Almost a decade later, Mr. Sinha quit from the BJP in 2018 after being sidelined by the BJP nether Modi-Shah. Accusing the Modi government of undermining antiauthoritarian institutions, Mr. Sinha vowed to motorboat a nationwide run to “save democracy”.
Ahead of the Bihar elections, Mr. Sinha on with Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) person Arun Kumar founded the Bhartiya Sab Log Party (BSLP). The outfit contested on 30 seats and failed to open its account. BSLP aboriginal merged with the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)] successful 2022.
Opposing the BJP, Mr. Sinha joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) successful 2021 arsenic the saffron enactment canvassed for the West Bengal elections. He was jointly chosen arsenic the Opposition’s campaigner for the 2022 Presidential elections, but lost to Droupadi Murmu by a margin of 2,96,626 votes. After his electoral loss, he discontinue TMC to motorboat the ‘Atal Vichar Manch’ ahead of the 2024 Jharkhand elections. The party is yet to contention immoderate elections.
