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The “sudden” meeting between All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on March 25 has once again underscored the enduring principle of expediency in Indian electoral politics. While Mr. Palaniswami denied that the meeting had anything to do with a renewed alliance between his party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — its former ally — Mr. Shah’s social media post after the meeting hinted otherwise. Mr. Shah expressed hope that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would form the government in Tamil Nadu next year, fuelling speculation of a revival of the AIADMK-BJP alliance ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. The urgency for rapprochement became evident after the 2024 general election results. Having been in an alliance in the 2019 general and 2021 Assembly elections, the AIADMK and the BJP went their separate ways before the 2024 general election. The AIADMK cited repeated provocations by BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai, who was accused of insulting its party icons. Hoping to regain support among significant sections of Muslim and Christian voters, the AIADMK opted to face the electorate alone. However, the outcome was sobering. The DMK-led alliance swept all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, while the coalitions led by the AIADMK and BJP, contesting separately, ended up splitting votes in at least 13 constituencies, damaging each other’s prospects. Worse, the AIADMK suffered the ignominy of forfeiting deposits in seven constituencies — a historic low for a party that has governed the State for 30 of the past 47 years. Yet, Mr. Palaniswami continued to assert that his party would not align with the BJP in 2026, a stance he maintained after the formal break in 2023.
Beyond electoral arithmetic, political circumstances have gradually nudged both the AIADMK and the BJP toward reconciliation. The DMK-led coalition appears stable, with no visible signs of internal turbulence. Meanwhile, actor Vijay’s newly launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi have shown no inclination of aligning with the AIADMK, leaving it politically isolated. In this context, both the AIADMK and the BJP see strategic value in rekindling their partnership. For the AIADMK, the immediate objective is to regain power. For the BJP, an alliance with the AIADMK remains the most viable route to expanding its footprint in Tamil Nadu, where its independent presence remains limited. However, alliances forged on expediency rarely result in policies focused on public welfare. Both parties need to do much more to boost public confidence that they would defy this distressing pattern.
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Published – March 27, 2025 12:10 am IST
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A political gambit: On the AIADMK and the BJP-NDA
