Annamalai Out, BJP-AIADMK Alliance In? The Twist In Tamil Nadu Tale Ahead Of 2026 Elections

Last Updated:April 07, 2025, 07:00 IST

The BJP and AIADMK together become a formidable force as they can then dominate three-four regions of Tamil Nadu

Will K Annamalai’s exit as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Tamil Nadu president pave the way for an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-BJP alliance for the state elections next year? This is the big political question doing the rounds as the BJP wants to end the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) reign in Tamil Nadu and seems ready to stoop to conquer in the state.

The fast-changing political scenario and the behind-the-scenes manoeuvres in Tamil Nadu are making the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections rich in anticipation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has confirmed that alliance talks are on with the AIADMK. He is set to travel to Chennai this month after his meeting with senior AIADMK leaders Edappadi K Palaniswami and KA Sengottaiyan within the past 10 days.

Almost on cue, Annamalai has said he is not in the race to remain the state BJP president, even as the AIADMK continues to deny any alliance move and in fact voted against the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament. The politics in Tamil Nadu is complex, and is also changing fast!

Till mid-March, the DMK seemed to have stolen the limelight in Tamil Nadu with its campaign against the Centre on the issue of ‘Hindi imposition’ and ‘delimitation’. MK Stalin has been proclaiming that his party will achieve what it hasn’t done since 1972 — repeat a consecutive term in Tamil Nadu.

But trust the BJP to not sit quiet.

THE SURPRISE MEETING

In a move straight out of a political drama, AIADMK general secretary Palaniswami (EPS) met Union Shah in Delhi on March 25 — triggering the talk that the erstwhile allies were again planning a reunion.

A key condition of the AIADMK for an alliance has been that they won’t deal with Annamalai as the BJP state chief. This was also the ultimatum given by the AIADMK to the BJP in 2023 when it had walked out of an alliance with the BJP.

Annamalai and AIADMK have a rough history. In 2023, Annamalai vowed to expose corruption within the AIADMK and DMK — this had greatly upset the AIADMK as J Jayalalithaa was the only former CM convicted on corruption charges. The AIADMK passed a resolution soon after, condemning Annamalai’s actions of attacking historical figures of the state.

The BJP chose to back Annamalai at that stage, given the amount of effort he had put to shore up the party’s chances with a padyatra across the length and breadth of Tamil Nadu. The BJP put Annamalai straight into the fight in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by making him contest from Coimbatore seat.

LOK SABHA LESSON, ANNAMALAI’S SABBATICAL

But the Lok Sabha elections were a disaster both for the AIADMK and the BJP as they failed to win even a single Lok Sabha seat. Annamalai himself lost, but was still seen as the reason apart from the Modi factor why the BJP increased its vote share for the first time into double digits to end at over 11%.

But then Annamalai left for a fellowship to Oxford for three months between August and December — and in that period, a new star was born in Tamil Nadu politics, Vijay. With his mega following and popularity among youth, Vijay has quickly emerged as a serious competitor to both Annamalai and DMK’s young scion and deputy CM, Udayanidhi Stalin.

Now, in a latest twist, Annamalai has said he is not in the race to remain the party’s state president but will remain involved in the state’s politics. This statement has come soon after Annamalai met Shah in Delhi after the EPS meeting. It is believed that Annamalai was told by Shah that the alliance with AIADMK has to happen for 2026.

NEW TWIST

So, Tamil Nadu’s politics is in for another sea change. The DMK, which looked firmly in control of the situation till last month with its campaign on Hindi imposition and delimitation, is staring at a tough fight now if the BJP and AIADMK re-align. Anti-incumbency has been a strong challenge for the DMK.

A major pain-point for the AIADMK has been the delimitation issue as Stalin has managed to build a narrative that Tamil Nadu would lose seats in the Lok Sabha as well as political clout if the Centre carried out delimitation according to population.

But Shah is believed to have told EPS that there is no point raising the delimitation issue ahead of the 2026 state elections as the national census itself will take another three years to be published and that the Centre wouldn’t conduct delimitation based on population as this would mean that even some northern states would lose seats.

Both the BJP and AIADMK know that an alliance is needed to dethrone the DMK from power next year. The BJP knows that the AIADMK remains a strong force in rural Tamil Nadu and has considerable influence in Western Tamil Nadu. The BJP has also gained ground in parts of Western Tamil Nadu, such as Coimbatore, Erode and Salem, and in some southern pockets such as Madurai and Ramanathapuram.

WHY THE ALLIANCE IS IMPORTANT?

The BJP and AIADMK together become a formidable force as they can then dominate three-four regions of Tamil Nadu. The BJP’s calculation also is to have a new state chief who can help the party’s chances in regions other than Western Tamil Nadu and among other caste groups too. Annamalai and Palaniswami belong to the same powerful community dominant in Western Tamil Nadu, the Gounders, and come from the same region as well – of western Kongu.

A front-runner for the BJP state chief’s post hence is Nainar Nagendran, who comes from Tirunelveli, and belongs to the other influential community in the state, the Thevars. Some are also speaking of BJP’s woman face in the state, Vanithi Srinivasan, as a contender for the post of the state president.

But that does not mean the story is over for Annamalai. Both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister are extremely fond of him, and he could be used in bigger roles now. The buzz is that he may be brought to the Rajya Sabha, but Annamalai has said he will remain in Tamil Nadu as a solid party worker.

One must remember what the Prime Minister said last year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections about Annamalai: “He is attracting the youth, and that he had joined BJP for national interest, not any personal reasons.” It seems he has been told to trust the BJP top brass, and trust their decisions.

The priority for the BJP right now is to dislodge the DMK from power, as Stalin is emerging as a glue for the opposition and is rallying opposition forces.