AIADMK rejoins NDA; to contest election together with BJP
What's the story
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has rejoined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed the alliance on Friday at a press conference along with outgoing BJP Tamil Nadu chief Annamalai and AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Shah said, "AIADMK and BJP have decided to fight Tamil Nadu elections together under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)."
Twitter Post
'This alliance is going to be permanent'
#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: On the BJP-AIADMK alliance for Tamil Nadu Vidhan Sabha elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "It was delayed because now this alliance is going to be permanent. It will not have any issues again... The BJP respects and takes pride in Tamil… pic.twitter.com/JSSNpDhZ1n
— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2025
Leadership role
Palaniswami to lead NDA alliance
Shah said Palaniswami will head the NDA alliance for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
"These elections will be contested under the leadership of PM Modi on a national level and under the leadership of AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami on state level," he added.
At the conference, Shah recalled a tremendous victory in the Lok Sabha in 1998, when the BJP and AIADMK formed an alliance under former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Past performance
NDA's previous performance in Tamil Nadu elections
The NDA fought the 2021 Tamil Nadu elections together when Palaniswami was the CM.
However, it lost to the DMK and its alliance partners, winning only 75 seats out of 234 constituencies.
The AIADMK bagged 66 seats while the BJP could manage to win just four.
The following year, in 2022, the AIADMK was decimated by the ruling DMK in the local body elections, losing all the corporations.
Tension
Friction between BJP Tamil Nadu chief and AIADMK leaders
Gradually, the relationship between the two worsened over time.
One of the many reasons was Annamalai's harsh remarks against AIADMK leaders Jayalalithaa and CN Annadurai, one of the founding fathers of the Dravidian movement, and his strong opposition to any alliance with Dravidian parties.
The rift eventually caused the BJP and AIADMK to split in 2023.
After the split, both parties fought solo in the 2024 Lok Sabha but failed to win any seats in Tamil Nadu.