AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) has sparked speculation over the party's future political alliances, asking people to "wait for six months" when questioned about a possible tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His cryptic remark has fueled uncertainty surrounding AIADMK’s stance ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters at an event in Salem, Tamil Nadu, Palaniswami emphasised that AIADMK’s primary goal is to defeat the ruling DMK. "Our only enemy is DMK, no other party," he asserted, signaling a focused electoral battle. “It is our sole responsibility to defeat the anti-people DMK, and it will happen in 2026.”
Reiterating what he had said before on electoral alliances and its purpose, Palaniswami said that the point is to not allow votes to be split, adding dislodging the "anti-people," DMK regime is AIADMK's primary duty and it would happen in 2026.
When the question of alliance with the BJP was repeated, the AIADMK chief asked scribes to pose that question after six months. He said all such questions on formation of alliances and talks were being asked based on speculation.
He wondered what answers could be given to such hypothetical questions. After six months, the parties that would be part of the AIADMK-led alliance and those with the DMK-led coalition would become clear. "There is one more year left for the Assembly election," he said.
Notably, the AIADMK had so far maintained that there would be no truck with the BJP, be it the 2026 state election or other polls in the coming years. Palaniswami had often said that electoral alliances are formed only to avoid split of votes and that it had nothing to do with the ideology, which varied from one party to the other. He had also ridiculed and questioned the DMK-led alliance's claim of being ideologically united and wondered the need for separate parties if that claim was true. "All parties could be merged with DMK," he had added.
(With PTI inputs)
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