On October 11, L. Murugan shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was even accompanied by the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
Within two days—that is, on October 13—he approached the prime minister requesting his release from office. Murugan, who held the post of Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs within the Modi Cabinet, submitted his resignation and expressed his desire to work hard for BJP in Tamil Nadu.
The decision has certainly created a buzz within the politics of Delhi and Chennai.
The language of Murugan’s letter was warm. "Serving Bharat Mata and Tamil Nadu in Modi's India would be the greatest honor of my life," Murugan said.
This move was not limited to him leaving the ministry. He even requested to leave the Rajya Sabha in order to serve the party in Tamil Nadu.
This is not an ordinary thing for a serving MP. Murugan was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh, and his tenure was until 2030.
In an X post, Murugan was candid about what he wants. He expressed his wish to "return to the grassroots and work with the BJP in Tamil Nadu before the 2029 Lok Sabha polls."
He said that he wanted to reconnect with the cadre of the party and strengthen its organization in the state. The phrasing suggests organizational effort as opposed to one particular election campaign.
While the 2029 national election is more than two years away from now, Murugan's very own words point to the BJP taking a long-term view on Tamil Nadu.
His background gives us an insight into why he chose this pitch. Murugan hails from Namakkal district in the state of Tamil Nadu and is a member of the Arunthathiyar caste. He is known to be the first person belonging to this caste to be appointed as a Union Minister after independence.
Before venturing into politics, he was an advocate. Prior to his joining of the BJP party, he was a part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organizations. He is a former vice-chairman in the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, from 2017 to 2020.
Murugan was appointed as head of BJP Tamil Nadu unit.
His success came on the back of a small yet symbolic victory. In the 2021 legislative elections, the BJP won four seats in Tamil Nadu for the first time in two decades. Murugan had narrowly missed winning his seat.
Despite this, the party promoted him. He entered Modi’s cabinet in July 2021 following a cabinet reshuffle.
Tamil Nadu has traditionally been tough for the BJP to win. According to one report, there was an undercurrent of Dravidian politics in the social climate of Tamil Nadu that made running a Hindutva-based party very challenging.
Murugan did not provide the reshuffle as the reason for his stepping down. A number of sources, on the other hand, have made the connection between the minister’s resignation and the speculations about the reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers. According to The Week, the resignation takes place in the midst of increased speculation about a possible reshuffle even before Diwali.
The government has neither confirmed nor denied these speculations. Until further notice from the Prime Minister's Office, all these speculations remain unconfirmed.
The trend seems to be there, though. As per the PTC News story, another two ministers, George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu, resigned from the cabinet in June and July, respectively.
The resignation poses some practical issues. As of Tuesday, there was no information about who will succeed him in the responsibilities in the ministries of information and broadcasting and in parliament.
There is also a vacancy created in the Rajya Sabha for the state of Madhya Pradesh when the resignation comes into effect and a new election will have to be held to fill the vacant seat.
There has been no announcement yet from either BJP or the government regarding any new assignment of Murugan within the party. The letter only mentions his intentions to work full-time in Tamil Nadu.
