Tamil Nadu BJP chief Ok Annamalai, identified for his fierce opposition to an alliance with the AIADMK, has shocked many with a shift in his stance.
Weeks after coming back from a sabbatical on the College of Oxford, the place he participated within the prestigious Chevening Gurukul Fellowship, Annamalai, hinted at the opportunity of rekindling ties with the AIADMK, a celebration he famously antagonised earlier than the Lok Sabha elections.
When requested a couple of potential BJP-AIADMK alliance and AIADMK common secretary Edappadi Ok Palaniswami’s current assertion that “there is no such thing as a alliance with the BJP”, Annamalai instructed reporters on Tuesday night, “There’s sufficient time to take a name on the AIADMK alliance… Let’s wait and see the way it evolves in 2025. We’ve nationwide leaders with a nationwide perspective… By 2025, we are going to get an image… When Edappadi anna is speaking about BJP on their stage, we’re clear about one factor in 2026. In Tamil Nadu, the precedence is to unseat the DMK. If you happen to ask me whether or not we are going to all (together with AIADMK) unite for that or develop our (NDA) broad alliance additional, I might say that every one these are potentialities.”
That is in stark distinction to his earlier confrontational method, which many inside the BJP blamed for the fallout with the AIADMK. Annamalai’s scathing criticisms, together with assaults on AIADMK’s icons, created irreparable rifts, culminating within the two events contesting the 2024 common elections individually after formally splitting in September 2023. The BJP did not safe a single seat, deepening the divide.
The AIADMK wasted no time in dismissing any rapprochement between the 2 events. Senior AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan stated, “The overall secretary (Palaniswami) has made it very clear — there is no such thing as a alliance with BJP.” He added pointedly, “Annamalai, your efforts to seek out an Eknath Shinde within the AIADMK shall not succeed. We’re conscious of what occurred to Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. You might strive your luck within the DMK.”
The fast official response to Annamalai was an instance of the deep animosity between the previous allies. In August 2024, AIADMK chief D Jayakumar launched a scathing assault on Annamalai, calling him a “moth and firefly” with a brief political life and accusing him of being unfit to steer a political outfit.
“None can destroy the AIADMK; those that strive will get destroyed,” Jayakumar stated, difficult the BJP to win even a single seat by itself within the 2026 Meeting polls.
Senior BJP leaders who had been towards Annamalai’s earlier method to the AIADMK admit that there was an surprising shift in his newest, much-softened, stance. A senior chief stated this follows his “three-month stint at Oxford,” the place he participated in a fellowship designed to hone management expertise.
“If you happen to name it a U-turn, I might say that it’s a U-turn after his UK journey. Perhaps the sabbatical supplied him a uncommon alternative to reassess his political methods away from the frenetic calls for of state politics. It was about progressive considering and strategic decision-making — qualities that will have influenced his newest assertion,” stated the BJP chief.
A senior RSS chief stated Annamalai was both now not so guarded or had realised the truth of the political panorama in Tamil Nadu. “What if he thinks now that repairing ties with the AIADMK is perhaps the one viable technique to remain related?” the chief stated.
Including to the BJP’s woes is the emergence of Vijay, the actor-turned-politician whose celebration, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has shaken the state’s political panorama. Vijay’s debut rally focused each the DMK and BJP whereas leaving the AIADMK unscathed, fuelling hypothesis of a possible alliance between the 2 events. Such a partnership may marginalise the BJP additional, particularly if it pushes the NDA behind even filmmaker-politician Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) when it comes to vote share.
“Annamalai’s preliminary assertiveness towards the AIADMK made sense in a distinct context, however the rise of Vijay has modified the sport,” stated the RSS chief. “Vijay becoming a member of an AIADMK-led alliance goes to be a problem for the DMK too. But when that occurs, (the S Ramadoss-led Pattali Makkal Katchi) additionally would possibly abandon the NDA to affix the AIADMK. In that situation, Annamalai can be left with weaker allies like O Panneerselvam and T T V Dhinakaran, who can not make the BJP’s efficiency any higher.”
On Tuesday, Annamalai stated the BJP was anticipating a vastly modified ballot situation in 2026. “Dravidian events are unlikely to type their very own authorities, and now we have been exploring the scope of a non-Dravidian celebration forming the federal government. It stays a undeniable fact that persons are aspiring for a brand new political tradition within the state,” he stated.
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