L. Murugan Resigns as Union Minister to Focus on BJP in Tamil Nadu

Union Minister of State L. Murugan resigned on Tuesday from his ministerial post and from the Rajya Sabha. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi he said he wanted to dedicate himself full time to strengthening the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Murugan posted the substance of the letter on X. He wrote that serving in the Union Council of Ministers under Modi had been the greatest privilege of his life. He now wished to return to the grassroots, stand with party workers, and work full time in the state. The post ended with the line Nation First. Party Next. Self Last.

He held the portfolios of Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs. He had been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. Before joining the Union government he served as president of the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit. The resignation takes effect once accepted by the President and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

The move arrives amid speculation about a broader Cabinet adjustment. Two other ministers, George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu, resigned earlier in the year. No official announcement of a reshuffle has followed Murugan's letter. The Prime Minister's Office has not commented on the timing or on any replacement.

Tamil Nadu remains a difficult state for the BJP. The party has not won a Lok Sabha seat there in recent cycles and holds a small share of the assembly. Murugan's return to full-time organisational work is intended to expand the cadre and to prepare candidates for 2029. He has not named a specific role inside the state unit.

The letter does not mention any disagreement with government policy. Murugan thanked Modi for the opportunity and framed the decision as a personal choice to focus on party building. Colleagues in the Information and Broadcasting ministry will continue under the remaining ministers until a new appointment is made.

Murugan entered the Union Council after the 2024 elections. His tenure covered the routine business of the two ministries and several parliamentary sessions. The decision to leave both the ministry and the Upper House clears the way for a full-time presence in Tamil Nadu rather than a split schedule between Delhi and Chennai.

Party workers in the state have welcomed the announcement on social media. Several district-level functionaries posted messages of support within hours of the X statement. The state unit has not yet scheduled a formal welcome or assigned Murugan a new organisational title.

The Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh will fall vacant once the resignation is processed. The BJP holds a comfortable majority in the Madhya Pradesh assembly and can fill the seat in due course. No timeline for the by-election has been set.

Murugan's background includes work as a lawyer and as a party organiser before he became state president. The post on X recalled that he is the son of daily-wage labourers. That personal detail has appeared in earlier campaign material and in the resignation message.

The Information and Broadcasting ministry handles government communication, public broadcasting, and film certification among other subjects. Parliamentary Affairs manages the government's legislative business in both houses. Both portfolios will be reassigned or held additionally by other ministers until the next Cabinet note.

No date has been given for Murugan's return to Chennai. He remains in Delhi while the formalities of resignation are completed. Once those are finished he is expected to begin meetings with state-unit office bearers and with district presidents.

The 2029 Lok Sabha election is still more than two years away. Organisational work in a state the size of Tamil Nadu requires sustained presence. Murugan's letter presents the resignation as the necessary step to supply that presence. The BJP national leadership has not issued a separate statement on the decision.