BJP-AIADMK form alliance for 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has confirmed that the AIADMK and BJP will contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections as part of the NDA alliance. On stage with him was AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and former state BJP president K Annamalai. “This election will be led nationally by Narendra Modi and in Tamil Nadu by EPS and AIADMK,” Shah said. The announcement was made by Amit Shah in Chennai on Friday.“Seat distribution and the distribution of ministries after the government is formed, both will be decided later,” he said. Shah also clarified that there were no pre-alliance conditions between the two parties and that the BJP would have no say in the AIADMK's internal matters. He added that though the stance of the parties differs on issues like NEET and the three-language policy, the partners will sit and discuss a common minimum program for the state.

#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: On the BJP-AIADMK alliance for Tamil Nadu Vidhan Sabha elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "It was delayed because now this alliance is going to be permanent. It will not have any issues again... The BJP respects and takes pride in Tamil… pic.twitter.com/JSSNpDhZ1n

— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2025

The BJP has elected Nainar Nagendran as the president of its Tamil Nadu unit. The news came just before the alliance announcement between the BJP and Nagendran's old party, AIADMK. Nainar Nagendran, who defected from AIADMK in 2017, is set to take over as the 13th president of the Tamil Nadu BJP.Annamalai’s tenure ended in 2024, but the elections were moved till Thursday, when Nagendran was the only one who filed his nomination.