EPS clarifies Amit Shah’s remark: “Alliance will capture power, not a coalition government”

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Wednesday clarified that Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah had stated that “only our alliance will capture power” in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, and did not mention a “coalition government.”

“Amit Shah’s statement should not be misrepresented. He clearly said that only our alliance will win the election. It is the media that is twisting his words to create the impression of cracks within the alliance. The BJP is a part of our team, and within our alliance, the final decision rests with me,” EPS told reporters in Chidambaram, asserting that the AIADMK will secure a majority on its own and form the government.

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“Our alliance, the AIADMK-led NDA, is stable. Apart from the BJP, several other parties are with us. Any attempt to create divisions among the alliance partners will not succeed. We are clear in our direction. The alliance was formed through discussions, and it was agreed that the AIADMK would lead and form the government,” he said in response to a question.

Responding to PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss’s recent remarks advocating for a coalition government and asserting that the OBC Vanniyar-dominant party should be part of it, EPS curtly replied, “Let them first join our alliance; only then can such matters be considered.” Within the AIADMK, talk of a coalition government remains unwelcome.

However, following Amit Shah’s repeated references to a “coalition government” under the NDA, the PMK has also echoed this sentiment. “For Tamil Nadu to become the number one state in the country and to compete with advanced nations, the PMK must be part of the government. It is our right as well,” Anbumani wrote on ‘X’ on the party’s 37th Foundation Day, exhorting the cadre.

Earlier, other NDA constituents such as the DMDK—led by late actor Vijayakanth’s wife Premalatha—and the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) had also supported the idea of a coalition government.

Responding to Chief Minister MK Stalin’s accusation that he had “mortgaged the AIADMK to the BJP to protect his family,” EPS retorted: “The DMK, which allied with the BJP during the 1999 Lok Sabha and 2001 Assembly elections and shared power from 1999 to 2003, has no moral authority to criticise the AIADMK’s re-entry into the NDA. Since we joined hands, it seems Stalin has caught a fever.”

“How could the BJP be ‘virtuous’ when allied with the DMK, but suddenly become ‘communal’ when aligned with the AIADMK?” EPS questioned, adding that “people can no longer be fooled.”