Contradicting BJP stalwart and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on a coalition government of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 assembly election, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) on Wednesday made it clear that there will be no power-sharing and that it would be an AIADMK government.

Five days after the AIADMK returned to the NDA fold in the presence of Shah in Chennai, EPS has denied that the AIADMK had meekly caved into accepting a coalition government in the event of the combine defeating the ruling DMK. Shah had then said that there would be a coalition government with a common minimum programme. As such, the volte-face comes since EPS faced a severe backlash from political parties and observers accusing him of acquiescing to the BJP’s demands without a murmur. For this would be the first time that a Dravidian major would go to the hustings with ‘coalition government’ as the campaign plank.

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“We have only entered into an alliance with the BJP. Amit Shah had only meant that the AIADMK-BJP alliance will form the government. He (Shah) did not say that it would be a coalition government. You are trying to play tricks by misrepresenting facts,” was his sharp response to a question while addressing the media after staging a walkout in the assembly. “At the national level, the alliance is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and in Tamil Nadu, it will be led by me. This is what Shah had said. Can’t you understand this?” he asked, urging the media to stop indulging in sensationalism.

At the press conference on April 11, with the NDA banner in the backdrop, Shah was categorical about a coalition government. Responding to questions, he said there would be a common minimum programme and ministerial berths for the BJP would be decided post elections. EPS and three of his AIADMK colleagues, seated on the dais, were mute spectators while Shah did all the talking. After Shah’s assertion about coalition government, BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu are on cloud nine, while senior AIADMK functionaries find it difficult to dispute what Shah has said. According to observers, the AIADMK going to the polls by conceding a coalition government would be disadvantageous for the party. And hence, EPS is attempting to wriggle out of this situation with a semantic explanation lest it would offend the national ally.