Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday officially confirmed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) will contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections together as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The announcement, made during a joint rally in Chennai, was seen as a show of strength and unity, with AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai sharing the stage with Shah.
“These elections will be contested under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level and under the leadership of AIADMK’s EPS in Tamil Nadu,” Shah declared to loud applause, clearly positioning Palaniswami as the Chief Ministerial face of the NDA in the state.
NDA Targets DMK as Shah Signals Shift in Tamil Nadu Political Strategy.
The announcement marks a renewed strategic push by the NDA in a state where regional parties dominate electoral politics. Shah emphasized the AIADMK’s long-standing ties with the NDA since 1998, referencing the past working relationship between PM Modi and former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Reiterating confidence in the strength of the alliance, Shah said, “Our alliance is much stronger. I am fully confident that NDA will win a major victory and an NDA government will be formed in Tamil Nadu.” He also mentioned that the seat-sharing formula will be discussed later, clarifying that AIADMK had not placed any preconditions on the partnership.
Though EPS’s name wasn’t formally announced as the CM candidate, Shah left little doubt. “We will fight this election led by EPS,” he reiterated, clearly projecting AIADMK’s leadership in the state-level campaign.
Taking direct aim at the ruling DMK, Shah accused the Stalin-led government of large-scale corruption and law and order failures. “People will vote on issues like corruption, atrocities against women and Dalits, and the failure of governance. The DMK is involved in scams — liquor, sand mining, cash for jobs, and MNREGA. Stalin and Udhayanidhi must answer to the people,” he said.
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The new alliance comes as BJP gets its new Tamil Nadu president
The timing of the alliance confirmation also coincided with a key internal change within the Tamil Nadu BJP. Nainar Nagendran was officially appointed as the party’s new state president, replacing K Annamalai. Interestingly, Annamalai himself had proposed Nagendran’s name, signaling a smooth transition in leadership.
The BJP-AIADMK alliance had performed well in Tamil Nadu during the 2014 general elections, securing 30 out of 37 Lok Sabha seats as part of the larger NDA surge. With the 2026 Assembly elections now in sight, the alliance is aiming to recreate that momentum and position itself as a viable alternative to the DMK.
