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Amid recurring speculation of a power-sharing arrangement with the BJP, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has made it clear that his party intends to form the government on its own after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Speaking at the party’s campaign, ‘Makkalai Kappom, Tamilagathai Meetpom’ (Let us protect the people and redeem Tamil Nadu), in Thiruthuraipoondi, Tiruvarur district, on Saturday, July 19, Edappadi Palaniswami denied any coalition government arrangement and asserted that the AIADMK would secure a clear majority on its own.
“The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is claiming that the AIADMK will share power with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if elected. We are not fools to give away power,” he said.
DMK leaders, including Minister KN Nehru, have consistently raised this concern in public speeches, pointing out that EPS has never directly contradicted Amit Shah’s coalition remarks.
The AIADMK leader’s comments also came in response to repeated claims by BJP leaders — including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai — that a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government would be formed in Tamil Nadu after 2026.
Palaniswami clarified that the alliance with the BJP was forged solely to remove the DMK government, which he accused of corruption and implementing anti-people policies.
He also hinted that more parties, including members of the current DMK-led alliance, could join hands with the AIADMK. However, he maintained that the AIADMK would lead and call the shots in any such alliance.
Contradicting this, Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran said he had reached out to EPS over the phone on Sunday and claimed that the AIADMK leader’s remarks were merely a response to the DMK’s narrative that the BJP had “swallowed” the AIADMK.
“There is no hidden message behind his statement. The NDA will form the next government in Tamil Nadu, that is certain,” Nagendran said.