Making a concerted push in southern Tamil Nadu, Union Home Minister and BJP strategist Amit Shah on Sunday directed party functionaries to focus on 50 constituencies with the potential to win in the 2026 assembly election and work in tandem with allies.

Addressing a high-level meeting of party functionaries in Madurai, the BJP strongman asked them to be confident of the future and work with the NDA constituents giving no room for any irritant, sources said, adding that he also directed to identify 50 winnable seats and focus on them. The meeting was attended, among others, by BJP state president Naninar Nagendran, former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, and BJP National Executive member K Annamalai, as well as Sudhakar Reddy, party in-charge of Tamil Nadu.

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To keep the rank and file in good humour, Shah is reported to have said that the 2026 assembly election will be a turning point for the BJP as the party is striving to replicate its Lok Sabha poll vote share of 19 percent. This is a herculean task, given the party had never exceeded 3 percent in assembly elections. In the 2021 assembly polls, the BJP, in alliance with the AIADMK, won four seats. Now, with the AIADMK back in the NDA fold and Shah’s focus on 50 winnable seats, the party is gearing up for the polls with renewed hope.

Emphasis was placed on working with allies in a spirit of friendship and mutual respect, especially in light of the initial war of words between the AIADMK and the local BJP over the formation of a coalition government, with the AIADMK denying any such agreement on re-entering the NDA. However, the BJP national leadership had to intervene to prevent this dispute from becoming an irritant.

Shah’s visit to Madurai comes close on the heels of the ruling DMK holding its General Council meeting in the temple city, often considered the poll bugle of Tamil Nadu. Further, the importance the saffron party accords to southern Tamil Nadu is not without reason. In the 2024 LS poll, BJP candidate Rama Sreenivsana had come second, rattling the Dravidian majors, while allies — former Deputy Chief Minister and expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam and TTV Dhinakaran, leading the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) — secured second place in Ramanathapuram and Theni, respectively. Now, with Nainar Nagendran, who hails from the dominant OBC Thevar community, as its state president, the party is bent upon making strong inroads while capitalising on the past gains, say analysts.

The Union Home Minister, who arrived late on Saturday night, had a darshan at the famed Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple in the morning. On his arrival, Shah was welcomed by Madurai Aadheenam (Saivite mutt) head Gnanasambanda Desiga Swamigal, who presented him with a saffron shawl and spiritual books. Then, after the temple priests accorded him a traditional welcome, he offered prayers to the deity, accompanied by BJP state president Nainar Nagendran and others.