Previous reports have indicated that former senior ministers and current MLAs from the AIADMK have been pressuring General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) to adopt a more unified approach ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections. While EPS had previously rejected the idea of a coalition, have now hinted that an alliance, even with the BJP, could be a strategic option. This shift in stance comes after a two-year break in the coalition between the AIADMK and the BJP.
Edappadi Palaniswami, who had attended various events in Thanjavur and Trichy before flying back to Chennai, addressed the media at the airport. He responded to Chief Minister MK Stalin’s recent criticisms, where Stalin claimed that under EPS’s leadership, little was achieved during his tenure.
Palaniswami defended the AIADMK’s governance from 2011 to 2021, citing the successful completion of several major projects, including the establishment of 11 medical colleges and law colleges, as well as the ongoing development of institutions in Salem. He emphasized that the AIADMK’s leadership under Jayalalithaa had delivered what he called the “best governance,” contrasting it with the current DMK government’s inefficiency. He also criticized the cancellation of key welfare schemes like the Amma Mini Clinics and the fertiliser distribution program.
“The DMK government is failing on multiple fronts,” Palaniswami said, highlighting that the promises made by Stalin during the election campaign had largely gone unfulfilled. He pointed out that out of the 525 promises made by the DMK during the election, less than 10 percent had been implemented. He also drew attention to the growing drug problem in Tamil Nadu, which, according to him, the DMK government has failed to curb.
Palaniswami further claimed that while Stalin criticized his leadership, he himself had risen through the ranks of the AIADMK because of his talent, whereas Stalin’s political rise was attributed to his familial connection to the late Karunanidhi. He also took aim at Udhayanidhi Stalin, asserting that his appointment as Deputy Chief Minister was due to his lineage rather than his merit.
In response to questions about the potential for an alliance with the BJP, Palaniswami maintained that any coalition would depend on the political climate closer to the election. He reiterated that AIADMK was open to working with like-minded parties to challenge the DMK government but emphasized that no formal decision about an alliance had been made yet. He dismissed concerns about fractures within the AIADMK-BJP alliance, suggesting that such speculation was unfounded and that the opposition’s goal was to unite against the DMK.
“Coalition is not like opening or closing the door. I may like that in other parties, but according to AIADMK and my opinion is like minded parties should today join and defeat this anti people and corrupt government and whoever comes to the alliance they are considered like-minded parties. Based on our parties’ principles whoever wishes to join under our coalition is like minded parties”. Schooling the media about election coalition EPS said, “Parliamentary or assembly elections comes once in five years, the alliance is based on the politics only nearing the election we could come to know who has allied with whom before that whatever we say it won’t stand.”
EPS further stated, “A coalition isn’t something simply be opening or closing a door. While other parties may approach it like that, but in my view, and in the view of the AIADMK, like-minded parties should come together today to defeat this anti-people, corrupt government.” He further explained, “Anyone who joins the alliance is considered a like-minded party. Those who wish to align with us, based on the principles of our party are like-minded party.”
Addressing the media on the nature of electoral coalitions, EPS emphasized, “the parliamentary or assembly elections, happen once every five years. The formation of an alliance is based on the political fervor made closer to the election. Only then will we know who has allied with whom. Anything said before that doesn’t hold true.”
Palaniswami stated, adding that AIADMK’s primary focus was to unite with parties that were aligned in their opposition to the DMK and could accept AIADMK’s leadership in any future alliance.
— KS / Karthigaichelvan S (@karthickselvaa) November 10, 2024
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