CHENNAI — Union
Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday formally announced that the All India Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) will lead the National Democratic Alliance
(NDA) in Tamil Nadu, setting the stage for a joint campaign in the 2026
Assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference in Chennai, HM Shah described
the AIADMK-BJP alliance as a “natural partnership” and confirmed that Edappadi
K. Palaniswami (EPS), AIADMK’s general secretary, will be the NDA’s chief
ministerial candidate in the state.
The declaration marks a significant political shift and
revives a partnership that had collapsed in September 2023 following a bitter
fallout.
The split was largely triggered by controversial remarks
made by Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, which offended the AIADMK
leadership.
His comments about revered Dravidian leaders like C.N.
Annadurai and J. Jayalalithaa had sparked outrage within the AIADMK and led to
a public rift between the two parties.
The two parties had previously contested together in the
2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections.
In the 2021 polls, the BJP won four seats while the AIADMK
secured 66.
However, relations soured after Annamalai’s appointment as
state BJP chief, ultimately leading to the alliance’s breakdown ahead of the
2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The split proved costly, as both parties suffered
significant setbacks in the 2024 polls.
HM Shah arrived in Chennai in the early hours of Friday and
was received at the airport by key BJP leaders, including state president K.
Annamalai, Union Minister of State L. Murugan, and senior figures Tamilisai
Soundararajan, Nainar Nagendran, and Pon Radhakrishnan.
During his visit, HM Shah held crucial discussions with
senior BJP and RSS leaders, including a private meeting with S. Gurumurthy,
editor of Thuglak magazine and an influential RSS ideologue.
These meetings were part of a strategic move to revive the
alliance ahead of the 2026 elections.
Political observers note that the groundwork for this
reunion had already been laid weeks earlier. EPS, along with senior AIADMK
leaders and former ministers S.P. Velumani and K.P. Munusamy, had met HM Shah
in New Delhi — a meeting that sparked widespread speculation about a possible
rapprochement.
According to sources, the AIADMK leadership requested the
BJP high command to consider replacing K. Annamalai to smoothen relations
between the two parties.
In a significant development, Annamalai announced on April 4
that he was not seeking any official position within the party and would
continue to serve as a loyal cadre — a statement that may have paved the way
for renewed negotiations.
Senior RSS functionaries reportedly played a key role in
reviving the alliance, urging the BJP central leadership to rebuild ties with a
major Dravidian party.
With the DMK seen as a political adversary, the AIADMK
emerged as the only viable option for the BJP to regain ground in Tamil Nadu.
The announcement is expected to bring about a significant realignment in state
politics.
With nearly a year left until the 2026 Assembly polls, both
parties are likely to begin groundwork for campaign coordination, candidate
selection, and constituency-level planning.
The revived alliance could reshape the electoral landscape
in Tamil Nadu, as the NDA attempts to position itself as a serious contender
against the ruling DMK.
Political analysts believe that a united AIADMK-BJP front
could tap into anti-incumbency sentiment and mobilise key voter blocs across
the state.
As the countdown to the 2026 elections begins, all eyes will
now be on how this renewed alliance translates into on-the-ground momentum in
one of India's most politically vibrant states.
