Though Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in April that ties between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) had been restored, there has been no attempt by either party to conceal the apparent contradictions between them.
At a press conference held jointly with the AIADMK general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Mr. Shah said, “We will fight the elections under the leadership of Edappadiji.” He also added that there would be a “coalition government” in the event of a victory. The AIADMK did not react positively to this announcement. It is not just the AIADMK; even the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has always been averse to the idea of a coalition government in Tamil Nadu.
In the 1980 Assembly elections, the DMK-Congress combine failed to capture power. The constituents of the coalition contested an equal number of seats. After a round of wrangling with the DMK, the Congress finally agreed that the then DMK chief, M. Karunanidhi, would be projected as the chief ministerial candidate. However, the coalition did not click at the hustings. Instead, the AIADMK, which won only two seats in the Lok Sabha elections earlier that year and subsequently lost power in Tamil Nadu, staged a spectacular comeback in the Assembly polls.
In 2001, when the AIADMK contested the Assembly elections from 141 seats — the lowest number it has ever contested — in view of coalition compulsion, political circles discussed whether the party would be able to obtain a simple majority of its own. The AIADMK needed to secure 118 seats in the House of 234. The AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran and his successor Jayalalithaa never favoured the concept of sharing power in the State. However, the party had no reason to worry as it won 132 seats.
In 2006, the DMK fell short of a simple majority as it won only 96 seats. Yet, it refused to share power with its allies. Karunanidhi and the then Congress chief, Sonia Gandhi, shared such a good rapport that the DMK patriarch managed to form the government without sharing power with the Congress.
After making that comment in April, Mr. Shah reiterated his position in many interviews to the media. However, the AIADMK is clearly not on the same page. Alluding to the Union Minister’s stand, AIADMK spokesperson Vaigaichelvan said that the concept of a coalition government would “never ever” find acceptance among the people of the State. Similarly, Mr. Palaniswami, who launched a State-wide tour from July 7 in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly elections, has been asserting that the AIADMK will form the government after gaining a majority on its own. When asked to comment on Mr. Shah’s position, he said he interpreted them as an endorsement of single-party rule in the State. Despite the conflicting views of the two parties, the BJP State president, Nainar Nagendran, and Union Minister of State L. Murugan participated in Mr. Palaniswami’s campaign launch.
In one interview, Mr. Shah said that the nominee for the post of Chief Minister would be from the AIADMK; he did not mention Mr. Palaniswami’s name. This did not go unnoticed in the DMK circles. The party sought to corner the AIADMK general secretary and saw Mr. Shah’s statement as a lack of confidence in Mr. Palaniswami’s leadership qualities. Eventually, it was left to Mr. Nagendran to clarify that the AIADMK leader would head the government.
Yet, speculation is rife that the Union Minister may have in mind former Municipal Administration Minister in Coimbatore, S.P. Velumani. About three weeks ago, the AIADMK strongman shared the stage with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat and senior BJP leaders at the birth centenary celebration of the pontiff of Perur Mutt, Shanthalinga Ramasamy Adigalar. He later explained that he attended the event, which he termed as “apolitical”, only as a local legislator. Prior to the announcement on the tie up between the two parties, there were reports of differences of opinion between the AIADMK chief and some of his senior colleagues, including Mr. Velumani.
As the debate over the nature of government could spoil the narrative for the Opposition parties, it would be in the interest of the alliance to sort out the issue soon. Having said that, it remains inexplicable that this debate is even raging given that the composition of different alliances has not even been finalised yet.
Published – July 16, 2025 01:47 am IST