Latest news with #EdappadiK.Palaniswami
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
The Hindu
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Palaniswami to begin tour of Tamil Nadu on July 7 as part of poll campaign
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami is set to undertake a tour of the State from Coimbatore on July 7. As part of the first phase of the Makkalai Kaappom, Thamizhagathai Meetpom campaign, he is scheduled to visit 34 Assembly constituencies. Between July 7 and 21, Mr. Palaniswami will visit Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, and Villupuram districts, a press release said. The party has also announced an agitation against alleged inefficient administration of the municipal corporation in Kumbakonam on July 7. In another release, Mr. Palaniswami named former MP T.G. Venkateshbabu and D. John Thangam as the party's organisation secretaries. Former legislator Purasai V.S. Babu was named the secretary of party's north Chennai northwest district unit and R. Jayasudharshan was named secretary of the party's Kanniyakumari West district unit.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
EPS is NDA's CM face in Tamil Nadu: Rajenthra Balaji amid speculation over Amit Shah's remarks
PUDUKKOTTAI: Former AIADMK minister K.T. Rajenthra Balaji on Friday reaffirmed Edappadi K. Palaniswami's leadership in Tamil Nadu, declaring him as the "commander" of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state and the alliance's Chief Ministerial face for 2026. Speaking to media persons in Pudukkottai, Balaji said, 'EPS is the leader of NDA in Tamil Nadu. His word is final. All decisions on alliance, seat-sharing and leadership will be taken by him.' His comments came in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent interview to a Tamil daily, where Shah confirmed that the NDA would contest the 2026 Assembly polls under the AIADMK's leadership, with the CM candidate from the party.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Palaniswami criticises DMK government for ‘lack of industrial development'
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami alleged on Sunday that Tamil Nadu was lagging in industrial development. In a statement, he criticised the DMK government for the State's borrowings in the past four years. Referring to Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Palanivel Thiaga Rajan's recent statement that Tamil Nadu's industrial development was not so aggressive as that of the other Southern States, the former Chief Minister said it summed up the status of industrial development in Tamil Nadu. Listing the AIADMK government's contributions to industrial development, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Palaniswami said it was because of those initiatives that the State had grown so far. Citing figures from a report of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for 2024-25, Mr. Palaniswami said that while Maharashtra and Karnataka took the first two positions in foreign direct investment, Tamil Nadu was placed fifth. The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly also pointed to reports that the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister had not only visited Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts and invited textile industrialists to invest in his State but had also opened office in these districts to help them out. Though steps were taken during AIADMK rule for facilitating the establishment of semiconductor industries in the State, these units went over to Gujarat and Assam because of the DMK government's 'lackadaisical attitude'.
The Hindu
21-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Edappadi K. Palaniswami echoes Amit Shah's concern that mother tongue sidelined in favour of English
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday (June 21, 2025) echoed Union Home Minister Amit Shah's concern that the mother tongue is being sidelined in favour of English. Responding to Mr. Shah's recent remark that English-speaking Indians may soon feel ashamed, Mr. Palaniswami said the mother tongue holds an important place in society and added that everybody has their own views. 'He has spoken about the importance of the mother tongue. His concern is that more importance is being given to English than to native languages,' Mr. Palaniswami told reporters at the Coimbatore airport. On the Keezhadi excavations, Mr. Palaniswami said the party had already explained its role. 'IT Wing secretary K. Pandiarajan has detailed the steps taken during the tenure of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and by the government that followed. All necessary clarifications were provided,' he said. Asked about the Muruga Bhaktargal conference being held in Madurai, he said, 'In a democratic country, every citizen and organisation has the right to worship the deity of their choice. Those organising the Muruga Bhaktargal conference are exercising that right. I extend my wishes.' On allegations that DMK functionaries used obscene language in public, Mr. Palaniswami said, 'We have already condemned such remarks. People are disturbed by them. In the 2026 Assembly elections, people will give a fitting response.' On International Yoga Day, he said, 'Yoga is important for physical health. The Prime Minister Modi is leading these efforts. I extend my greetings.'
