Alarmed by growing disquiet and open criticism within the party over the AIADMK contradicting Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim of a coalition government post the 2026 assembly election, BJP’s Tamil Nadu in-charge Sudhakar Reddy and state president Nainar Nagendran on Friday urged party functionaries to exercise utmost restraint and not jeopardize the alliance with the Dravidian major.

Issuing what is essentially a gag order, both Nainar and Reddy made it clear that party members should avoid unnecessary criticism of the alliance and refrain from reacting provocatively. Interestingly, this directive comes a day after senior AIADMK leader M Thambidurai reiterated his party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s (EPS) categorical position that there would be no coalition government.

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Adding to the BJP’s discomfiture, many AIADMK leaders have sought to differentiate between an electoral coalition and a coalition government.

EPS openly contradicting Amit Shah, who had asserted that there would be a coalition government with BJP participation, ruffled feathers within the saffron party, prompting swift damage control.

The AIADMK too had issued a gag order to its leaders, asking them to refrain from discussing the issue in public. Now, the BJP has followed suit to contain further fallout.

“For the BJP, guidance will come from the national leadership. On policy matters, no one is supposed to express views publicly; discussions should be confined to internal meetings. Shri Amit Shah and Shri EPS will jointly take decisions on the alliance. We must avoid unnecessary criticism,” Reddy said in his statement.

He added that the return of AIADMK into the NDA fold was a decision jointly made by Shah and EPS, and that the alliance would ensure the BJP secures double-digit MLAs and a significant presence in the assembly.

Conscious of the need to preserve the tie-up, Nainar Nagendran emphasized that campaign and propaganda materials, including posters and wall writings, must not cause dissension within the coalition or defame individual leaders.

He stressed that such materials should only strengthen the party and the alliance, reiterating that the sole focus must be on removing the “anti-people and dynastic” DMK government from power.