The relationship between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has seen significant ups and downs over the years. From a strong alliance in the past to a recent fallout, the two parties are once again exploring the possibility of reuniting ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The AIADMK first aligned with the BJP in the late 1990s during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure as Prime Minister. However, differences led to an early breakup. After the demise of J Jayalalithaa in 2016, the AIADMK faced internal divisions, and in an effort to strengthen itself, the party allied with the BJP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The alliance, however, failed to secure significant victories, as the DMK-led coalition dominated Tamil Nadu politics.
Despite the setback, the AIADMK-BJP alliance continued into the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, where the AIADMK-led coalition, including the BJP and PMK, secured 33.29% of the votes, but ultimately lost to the DMK-led alliance, which won 37.7% of the vote share. The defeat widened cracks within the alliance, and in September 2023, the AIADMK officially severed ties with the BJP, citing disrespect from the BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai as a major reason.
Despite their split, AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, sparking fresh speculation about a renewed BJP-AIADMK alliance. Initially, Palaniswami was reluctant to return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), as the AIADMK was keen on building an independent coalition. However, after the DMK’s sweeping victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Palaniswami’s political options have become limited.
Sources indicate the former alliance of BJP is now willing to negotiate with the BJP, provided certain conditions are met. One key demand is the formation of a steering committee to handle relations between the two parties, bypassing Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, whose aggressive stance against AIADMK leaders caused friction in the past. Additionally, the AIADMK has urged the BJP to distance itself from party rebels like TTV Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam.
BJP’s allaince with regional party of Tamil Nadu is crucial for expanding its footprint in Tamil Nadu, where it has struggled to gain traction. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA (including PMK and AMMK) managed to secure 18.28% of the votes, whereas the AIADMK-DMDK alliance got 23.05%. If the two parties join forces, they could mount a serious challenge to the DMK’s dominance in the 2026 Assembly elections. While the final agreement is still being worked out, it is evident that political compulsions and survival strategies are pushing AIADMK and BJP closer once again.
