Alliance matters: Annamalai says Amit Shah wants coalition govt in TN
CHENNAI: Signs of tension building up in the AIADMK-BJP alliance emerged on Thursday, with the two parties engaging in public sparring over sharing of power in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 assembly elections.
A day after AIADMK general secretary
Edappadi K Palaniswami
said that Union home minister Amit Shah had never spoken about forming a coalition govt in the state, former BJP state president K Annamalai countered the claim, stating that Shah had clearly and repeatedly said he wanted a coalition govt.
'Amit Shah has said not once, but thrice, that there will be a coalition govt in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 elections,' Annamalai told reporters here on Thursday.
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He added that if AIADMK disagreed, they should speak directly with Shah and resolve the issue. He said it was Shah who stitched together the BJP-AIADMK alliance. Annamalai also claimed that parties such as PMK, DMDK and Puthiya Tamizhagam supported the idea of a coalition govt in TN.
Annamalai added that his remarks should not been seen as an attempt to create a rift in the alliance. 'Some people might claim that I am saying this in an attempt to break the alliance.
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As a BJP worker, I echo my leader's view. If I can't stand by my leader's words, there's no point in being a party cadre,' he said.
Annamalai's remarks come against the backdrop of EPS repeatedly dismissing the idea of a coalition govt and asserting that his word was final regarding the AIADMK front in TN. Other senior leaders, though cautious in their remarks, upheld their positions. Union minister of state L Murugan said Shah's statement on the coalition was final as far as BJP is concerned, while AIADMK deputy general secretary K P Munusamy had maintained that EPS's stand was final.
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