Exposing the continuing inherent contradictions within the NDA in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday contradicted Union Home Minister and BJP stalwart Amit Shah yet again, dismissing any talk of coalition government and asserting that the Dravidian major would secure a majority on its own and form the government after the 2026 assembly election.
“The AIADMK will secure a majority on its own and form the government. I have reiterated this many times,” he told reporters in Puducherry in response to a question on Amit Shah’s interview published in an English daily this morning. This is the second time within a month that EPS has contradicted the BJP strategist, who continues to push for a coalition government with the BJP’s participation.
In the interview, Shah responded affirmatively to a specific question on whether the BJP would join the government in the event of the AIADMK-BJP combine winning the election, saying “Yes”. Earlier, he had maintained that the BJP would participate in the government, and it would be an NDA dispensation. Though this might be aimed at keeping the BJP cadre and functionaries in good humour, it remains unpalatable for the AIADMK leadership as well as the rank and file of the party, with some entertaining the idea of entering the cabinet. The AIADMK remains the dominant constituent of the NDA after its return to the saffron camp a few months ago.
Shah’s remarks, however, have found traction among potential allies like the DMDK of late matinee icon Vijayakant, led by his wife Premalatha, and the OBC Vanniyar-dominant Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). According to analysts, the BJP floating the idea of a coalition government is a carrot to lure parties sitting on the fence to join the NDA with an intention to break the Dravidian monopoly in the state’s politics.
While Shah continues to maintain that EPS will be the Chief Minister, his persistent stand on a coalition government or an NDA government in Tamil Nadu is unpalatable for the AIADMK leadership. Many second-line AIADMK leaders, including former Minister D Jayakumar, RB Udayakumar, and Sellur K Raju, have discounted the idea of a coalition government, saying, Tamil Nadu thus far had no coalition experiment.
That the BJP too is entertaining hopes of getting Vjjay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on board is made clear when Shah, replying to a query on the actor joining the NDA bandwagon, said, “We can’t say that now. We will make efforts to bring parties (opposed to the DMK) on a single platform. Vijay, declaring himself as the chief ministerial candidate, had asserted that the TVK will fight the DMK without aligning with parties that have truck with the saffron party, identifying it as the TVK’s ideological enemy.
Meanwhile, upping the ante, Union Minister L Murugan said, “What Amit Shah says is Vedic dictum for us. On issues concerning the alliance, as our national leader, his decision is final.” He also reiterated his claim that the DMK-led secular alliance has developed cracks with some parties waiting for an opportunity to desert the combine.