Even as the AIADMK has ruled out a renewal of its alliance with the BJP for the 2026 assembly elections, reports said the saffron party’s Tamil Nadu leadership has initiated discussions with the principal opposition party for a possible tie-up.
The BJP’s central leadership has reportedly given its nod for the alliance talks.
The ruling party at the Centre is of the view that a strong Dravidian support base is essential for success in Tamil Nadu, especially in the 2026 assembly polls, reported IANS.
Both the BJP and the AIADMK fought the 2021 assembly elections together and the saffron party managed to win four seats, including Coimbatore where Mahila Morcha National President Vanathi Srinivasan defeated Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan.
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However, the relationship between the two parties soured after K. Annamalai took charge as the BJP state president. Annamalai’s controversial remarks against Dravidian stalwarts such as C.N. Annadurai and J. Jayalalithaa irked the AIADMK, which officially snapped the alliance with the BJP on September 25, 2023.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, both the BJP and the AIADMK came a cropper with the ruling DMK sweeping all the 39 seats in the state.
The BJP leadership has claimed that the party has consistently increased its vote share in the state. In the Lok Sabha polls, they secured 19.6 per cent vote share. However, the inability to win seats seems to have prompted the party to explore options of an alliance.
According to reports, senior BJP leaders Tamilisai Soundararajan and H. Raja are in favour of renewing the party’s tie-up with the AIADMK ahead of the 2026 polls.
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Palaniswami had earlier said that the AIADMK was ready to ally with like-minded parties to defeat the DMK in the 2026 Assembly elections. He, however, also ruled out revival of its tie-up with the BJP.
“This was already clarified. During the Lok Sabha election, it was said at the party headquarters and in press bytes that the AIADMK will not have alliance with the BJP in the Assembly election. The aim is to dethrone the DMK. Our stand is: no alliance with the BJP,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu last week .
The IANS report, however, claimed that behind-the-scenes discussions are still underway.