Will AIADMK rejoin BJP-led NDA ahead of Tamil Nadu assembly polls 2026? Speculation rife as EPS visits Delhi

Tamil Nadu: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) is in the national capital today, March 25, fueling speculations about the party’s return to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold. EPS may meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital, according to sources.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the opposition party in Tamil Nadu, has said in its official version that EPS is in Delhi to visit the news party office. The party building, constructed for ₹10 crore, was inaugurated by EPS via video conferencing from Chennai.

However, according to a report in the Indian Express, quoting sources, the meeting between EPS and Amit Shah could pave the way for the party’s return to the NDA. EPS has been resisting the alliance since September 2023 when the two parties parted ways for many reasons – the primary among them being BJP’s Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai.

In February, the AIADMK outrightly ruled out any possibility of an alliance with the BJP. The party's stand was made in a statement released on a day when 16 AIADMK leaders joined the BJP in New Delhi. But Amit Shah, in an interview to a local daily, did not rule out the possibility of a rapprochement.

Snapped ties in 2023

Before the Delhi visit of EPS, there have been discussions between AIADMK and BJP leaders back in Tamil Nadu. Among other things, EPS is also expected to explain to senior BJP leaders in Delhi the impact of the three-language policy and upcoming delimitation.

The development comes ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

The AIADMK had aligned with the BJP following supremo J Jayalalithaa’s demise in 2016. But after DMK’s sweep of the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, EPS pulled away from the alliance in 2023.

Left with no options

Now, as reports suggest, the AIADMK, has no other option. but to align with the BJP if it wants to exist in the state’s political landscape. Also, actor Vijay launching his own party - Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is also one of the factors driving AIDMK’s change in heart.

The party has reportedly put some conditions on the alliance. The party wants the BJP to form a high-powered steering committee to oversee coordination between the parties. The authority, the Indian Express report said, would outrank Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai.

The AIADMK also wants the BJP to drop any overtures towards party rebels T T V Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam. The BJP had earlier urged Palaniswami to bring the rebels back into the AIADMK fold to cement party cracks.

The BJP, which has almost no footprint in Tamil Nadu, needs an alliance partner ahead of 2026 assembly polls.

"Except for the BJP, all parties have supported it (the resolution against triple language). We are firm that we will never accept it (the triple language policy). I came to know that opposition leader EPS went to Delhi, but who is he going to meet? We hope that the opposition leader (EPS) will request this issue from him when he meets him,” Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin said on March 25.