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The Print
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
BJP ally AIADMK distances itself from Amit Shah's remark that Tamil Nadu will get ‘coalition govt'
In an interview with Daily Thanthi Group Friday, Amit Shah said, 'National Democratic Alliance will certainly form the government, and the BJP will be part of it.' Responding to a question about who would be the chief ministerial candidate, Amit Shah told the newspaper that the BJP will contest the polls under the leadership of the AIADMK. 'The chief minister will be from the AIADMK,' he clarified to the Daily Thanthi Group, but at the same time, did not name AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami as the CM candidate. The AIADMK insists that it will govern alone. Tamil Nadu has not seen a coalition government since 1967. New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form a government in Tamil Nadu and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be its part after the 2026 state elections, reigniting tensions between the BJP and its ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). It is not the first time that Amit Shah has declared that Tamil Nadu will get a coalition government. On 11 April 2025, when he was in Chennai to revive the AIADMK-BJP ties, he said, 'A coalition government will be formed after the elections,' adding that Edappadi K. Palaniswami will be leading the fight in the upcoming polls. To the Daily Thanthi Group, Amit Shah also said that the BJP was not going to create a narrative that the current government in Tamil Nadu was working against the interests of the Hindus. 'We need not make an issue here. If you speak against any ideology, you spontaneously antagonise people. We need not do anything. The people of Tamil Nadu will make them pay for their sins,' he told the newspaper. Also Read: Keezhadi excavator's transfer to Greater Noida won't affect findings—'Only he can submit report' TN will not accept coalition: AIADMK Amit Shah's comments reiterating the formation of a coalition government have sparked tensions as Opposition AIADMK is against power-sharing arrangements. The AIADMK has consistently claimed it will form the government independently. The contradiction has created friction within the BJP-AIADMK alliance, particularly since Amit Shah has avoided naming Edappadi K. Palaniswami as the CM candidate. Speaking to ThePrint, AIADMK spokesperson and ex-minister Vaigaichelvan said the people of the state would not be in favour of a coalition government. He also recalled how such a stand in the past failed in Tamil Nadu. 'In the 1980 assembly election, DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Congress shared an equal number of seats, proposing a coalition government. However, people of the state rejected the idea of a coalition government and gave a single majority to the AIADMK,' Vaigaichelvan said. Speaking to ThePrint, Tamilisai Soundararajan, former Telangana Governor and ex-president of the BJP, claimed that whatever Amit Shah said was twisted to create confusion within the BJP-AIADMK alliance. 'Home Minister Amit Shah's statements are quite clear. We will fight the elections as an alliance and form the government as an alliance. People are twisting it as a coalition government—which is unwanted,' she said. It was not just in 1980. In 2011, when DMK contested just 119 of 234 assembly seats—just above the majority mark—the DMK-led alliance not only lost the polls but stood third after the Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK). In that election, the DMK won just 23 seats while its alliance partner, Congress, secured five, and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) secured three seats. In the 2006 assembly election, the DMK contested as many as 132 seats, and its alliance partners, including Congress, PMK, and Communist parties, contested the remaining seats. DMK won just 96 seats—way below the majority mark—but formed a minority government then, with the external support of its alliance partners. According to political analysts, the state has never been in favour of coalition governments since the Dravidian parties entered the electoral foray in the 1960s. Political analyst N. Sathiyamoorthy told ThePrint that the collective mindset of the state was to have a stable government without any chaos. 'Dravidian parties came to the electoral foray against the national parties. Every time the Dravidian parties came to power, their alliances remained intact and stable. However, whenever an internal feud breaks out in the alliance over sharing power, it is shown the door,' Sathiyamoorthy told ThePrint. 'The state has been witnessing it since the death of former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran (MGR). Until the Dravidian parties are strong enough to get a single majority, there is no scope for a coalition government.' Keezhadi pride of country: Amit Shah On the possibility of actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) joining the BJP-AIADMK alliance, Amit Shah told the Daily Thanthi Group that there was still enough time before the election. 'Everything will be clear at the right time,' he said. He also said that the political plank of the BJP-AIADMK alliance will be the failure of the DMK government, as well as the success of the Modi government. 'If you analyse the results of the Lok Sabha polls from the prism of the NDA, you will find that the NDA was winning,' he said. Amit Shah, speaking about the Dravidian politics and the social justice and state autonomy ideas of the DMK, clarified that the BJP stance was clear—it never opposed the vision of a prosperous Tamil Nadu, Tamil language, and Tamil culture. Responding to the accusation slapped by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on the Centre—it is trying to obliterate the ancient civilisation in Keezhadi by rejecting a report of archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna on his excavations in the Sivaganga district—Amit Shah told the newspaper that an ancient civilisation excavated in any part of India is a matter of pride for the entire country. 'But the world will only accept the existence of the civilisation only if there is evidence, according to the international parameters. I hope the Tamil Nadu government will cooperate. Everyone is proud, and nobody has a problem,' he said. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Sun TV Network, Maran brothers & an old feud. How Dayanidhi-Kalanithi clash was waiting to spill over
New Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Securing more seats is as important as defeating AIADMK-BJP combine: CPM
CHENNAI: Hinting at the party's resolve to seek more seats in the DMK alliance in the 2026 Assembly election, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam on Wednesday said securing more seats for the party is as important as fighting the communal AIADMK-BJP alliance in the Assembly election. Launching the CPM's state-wide 'People's Meeting Campaign' on Wednesday, Shanmugam said, 'Under the current political circumstances, the DMK-led alliance remains the most viable platform to counter this communal threat.' Reiterating the need to electorally defeat the AIAMDK-BJP combine, the CPM leader, however, said the party's foremost political objective in Tamil Nadu will be to defeat the BJP alliance. 'But we also aim to contest and win more seats in the upcoming elections to strengthen the party's presence in the state Assembly,' Shanmugam said. He acknowledged that all alliance partners naturally seek more seats and expressed confidence that the DMK leadership would make reasonable decisions during negotiations.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
CPM demands more seats, secy continues tirade against DMK
Chennai: CPM state secretary P Shanmugam has reiterated the party's intent to seek more seats in the DMK alliance in the 2026 assembly election. "Contesting in more seats is as important as being in the DMK front to defeat the BJP alliance," he told reporters in Chennai on Wednesday. The CPM has signalled its desire to contest in more seats in the upcoming election over the past few days. Shanmugam reiterated that CPM will contest in more seats in the 2026 assembly election and that it will not be content with the six seats as in 2021. Nevertheless, Shanmugam said the CPM would continue to be in the DMK front. He said the focus was to keep the BJP alliance away from power in Tamil Nadu. The only party that has the strength to defeat the AIADMK-BJP front was DMK, he said. Shanmugam launched CPM's public campaign in Chennai "to highlight the failures" of Prime minister Narendra Modi-led BJP govt at the Centre in controlling price rise, reducing unemployment and protecting constitutional mandates and federal principles. Addressing reporters on the sidelines of the campaign, Shanmugam continued his critical approach towards the DMK, Shanmugam said he was not sure whether the DMK has fulfilled 98.5% of the poll promises as claimed by DMK MP A Raja. "DMK has not fulfilled its poll promise of providing monthly electricity bills as mentioned in its manifesto. There are many such and how can they say that they have fulfilled 98.5% of their promises," Shanmugam asked. Raja had said that DMK fulfilled its poll promises except that of providing family pension to the govt employees. Shanmugam wondered whether all the unfulfilled promises come under the remaining 1% of the poll promises as claimed by the DMK. Despite being part of the DMK front, Shanmugam has been critical of the state govt. On Tuesday, Shanmugam called DMK govt 'capitalist' and said the DMK cannot win on its own. Meanwhile, VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan also said that it was natural for any party to aim for more seats. "But, ultimately, the DMK would allot an appropriate number of seats," he said.
Hans India
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
HM Shah to attend TN BJP core committee meet in Madurai today; NDA expansion likely
Chennai: Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah is set to visit Madurai on Saturday, sparking renewed political interest in Tamil Nadu over the party's southern strategy and the potential expansion of the NDA in the state. According to party sources, HM Shah will arrive in Madurai late on Saturday and is scheduled to participate in the BJP's Tamil Nadu core committee meeting the following day. He will also address office-bearers from the state, district, and mandal levels in what is being viewed as a strategic push to strengthen the BJP's base in the southern districts. BJP national co-in-charge for Tamil Nadu, P. Sudhakar Reddy, said the visit would primarily focus on strengthening the party's organisational structure and preparing for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. 'He will speak on various matters, including the achievements of the Modi government over the past 11 years. Amit Shah will also outline a road map for the BJP's strategy in the state,' Reddy said. HM Shah's visit comes at a time when discussions over the NDA's expansion in Tamil Nadu are gaining traction. His previous visit to the state on April 11 marked a significant political moment, as it was during that trip to Chennai that he formally announced the revival of the BJP-AIADMK alliance. That announcement sent ripples across the state's political landscape. Commenting on the choice of Madurai as the venue, BJP state vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy dismissed any special political significance. 'The Union Home Minister has previously chaired meetings in Chennai and Coimbatore. This time it's Madurai,' he said. However, BJP insiders suggest that Madurai, often referred to as the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu, holds symbolic value. The city has long been a stronghold of spiritual and cultural traditions aligned with the Sangh Parivar, and the party is keen to consolidate its base in the southern belt. In line with this, the BJP and its affiliate Hindu Munnani are organising a 'Lord Muruga Devotees Conference' in Madurai later this month. Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson and senior leader ANS Prasad highlighted the impact of HM Shah's earlier visit. 'His April 11 trip to Tamil Nadu changed the political narrative in the state. The announcement of the AIADMK-BJP alliance shook the DMK and its allies. Since then, leaders including Chief Minister M.K. Stalin have consistently addressed the implications of that alliance. Tamil Nadu politics can now be seen in two phases — before and after Amit Shah's April visit.' Prasad added that HM Shah's upcoming speech in Madurai is expected to offer clear direction for the 2026 elections.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
DMK GC resolutions are to hide its failure: Murugan
Chennai: Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs L Murugan said the DMK had passed resolutions attacking the BJP during the party's general council meeting in Madurai in a bid to hide its failures. In a statement on Monday, Murugan said the Dravidian major was adopting diversionary tactics by condemning the BJP govt at the Centre. "CM M K Stalin seems to believe that if they pass resolutions condemning the BJP govt at the Centre, the public will forget about the corruption and failures of his own regime," Murugan said. During the general council meeting on Sunday, the DMK had passed multiple resolutions criticising the BJP from bringing the Waqf Act to withholding of funds and projects to TN. Murugan alleged there was widespread corruption in DMK govt which Stalin wants to hide. "The legacy of systematic corruption evolved under the DMK regime has evolved into brazen looting," he alleged adding the real aim of the general council meeting was to reaffirm that his son and deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin was the heir apparent and party cadres must blindly follow him. Meanwhile, BJP Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan criticised Stalin for his remarks that 'No matter which Shah visits Tamil Nadu, they cannot rule us,' made at the general council meeting. "If the DMK thinks TN is behind them, why is the CM always worrying about the AIADMK-BJP alliance," she asked.
