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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin has strongly criticized the renewed alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), calling it an “alliance of defeat.” His comments came in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement of the BJP-AIADMK partnership for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In a statement released on Friday, Stalin said, “The AIADMK-BJP alliance is an alliance of defeat. The people of Tamil Nadu are the ones who repeatedly handed down this defeat.” He added that Amit Shah’s press conference in Chennai was “unworthy of the position he holds” and accused the BJP leader of reviving a failed alliance without giving any clear ideological basis.
Stalin also questioned whether key issues raised by AIADMK in the past would now be ignored. These include opposition to the NEET medical entrance exam, resistance to the three-language policy and Hindi imposition, concerns over the Waqf Act, and Tamil Nadu’s seat allocation in the upcoming delimitation exercise. “He vaguely claimed they would work on forming a ‘common minimum programme’ but didn’t explain what it would contain,” Stalin said.
The BJP-AIADMK alliance was officially revived on Friday, with Amit Shah declaring that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would contest the 2026 state polls under AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s (EPS) leadership. As part of the changes within the BJP, former AIADMK minister and current BJP legislator Nainar Nagendran filed his nomination for the post of Tamil Nadu BJP president, replacing K. Annamalai.
Amit Shah acknowledged Annamalai’s efforts and stated his skills would now be utilised at the national level. Shah added, “AIADMK has no conditions and demands… We will have no interference in the internal matters of AIADMK. This alliance is going to be beneficial to both NDA and AIADMK.”
This renewed alliance comes after tensions between the two parties last year. Their earlier partnership broke down following Annamalai’s controversial remarks about late former CM J Jayalalithaa, leading to strong criticism from AIADMK leaders and a temporary split.
However, Shah emphasized that the alliance would be a “permanent” one going forward. Earlier this year, Nainar Nagendran had hinted that EPS was open to discussions and did not believe in using pressure tactics. Annamalai had initially distanced himself from such remarks but later stated he would serve the party in any role required.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, both BJP and AIADMK had contested independently and failed to win any of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. The DMK-led alliance swept the polls. With their reunion, BJP and AIADMK now plan to pose a strong joint challenge to the ruling DMK in the 2026 assembly elections.
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