AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) met Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday night, fueling speculation about a potential rekindling of ties between the two parties ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
While officially, EPS submitted a memorandum highlighting concerns over delimitation and the state’s law and order situation, political observers see this meeting as a strategic step toward mending relations between AIADMK and the BJP. The AIADMK had walked out of the NDA alliance in September 2023, citing repeated attacks by the Tamil Nadu BJP leadership on party icons, including former Chief Ministers C.N. Annadurai and J. Jayalalithaa.
Despite previously ruling out any alliance with the BJP for 2026, AIADMK’s independent efforts to form a broad coalition have faced hurdles. Meanwhile, the ruling DMK has successfully held its alliance together, making AIADMK’s position more challenging. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections were a major setback for AIADMK, as the party lost deposits in seven constituencies and finished third or fourth in several others.