Dhinakaran's NDA snub upsets BJP's alliance math in Tamil Nadu: 'As long as EPS is CM face...'

AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran. (File photo)

The BJP's bid to broaden the NDA umbrella in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls has run into resistance, with AMMK (Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam) chief TTV Dhinakaran making it clear that he will not return to the fold so long as AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) remains the alliance's chief ministerial candidate.

Dhinakaran’s blunt rejection came just two days after former state BJP president K Annamalai called on him in Chennai. While the two leaders insisted their hour-long meeting was "not political" and rooted in personal friendship, BJP insiders acknowledged that the outreach was aimed at testing whether the AMMK leader could be persuaded to rejoin the NDA.

"There is no chance (of rejoining the NDA) as long as Palaniswami is the CM candidate," Dhinakaran said on Wednesday. "I opposed him in 2021 as well. Only because senior leaders requested me did I accept him then. This time, our party will specifically fight to defeat EPS."

He also alleged "betrayal" by the AIADMK chief, adding that while "Delhi leaders" had made attempts through intermediaries to bring him back, he had rejected those overtures.

The statement marks a significant setback for the BJP, which has been trying to stitch together a more coherent alliance in Tamil Nadu where the DMK-led coalition remains firmly in control. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Annamalai had played a key role in bringing Dhinakaran into the NDA camp. Dhinakaran is the nephew of VK Sasikala, who was among the closest aides of the late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.

On the other hand, Palaniswami, who consolidated control over the AIADMK after Jayalalithaa's demise, has been equally averse to any rapprochement with either Dhinakaran or former chief minister O Panneerselvam (OPS), viewing both as threats.

While OPS has hinted he could be flexible if invited back by senior AIADMK leaders such as KA Sengottaiyan, he has also praised the rising popularity of actor Vijay's new Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), making it evident that he was keeping his options open.

The BJP's difficulties are compounded by fractures within its smaller allies. The PMK is divided between founder S Ramadoss and his son Anbumani, the DMDK has grown resentful since the death of its leader Vijayakanth, and K Krishnaswamy's Puthiya Tamizhagam has shifted to Vijay’s camp.

That has left the BJP and the AIADMK as the only two dependable partners in the NDA in Tamil Nadu, though not without friction.

Last week, EPS reportedly conveyed his firm opposition to bringing back either OPS or Dhinakaran to BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in Delhi. Having fought a bruising battle to secure his supremacy within the AIADMK, EPS views both as rivals whose return could undercut his position.

According to The Indian Express, sources within the AIADMK suggest that Palaniswami has proposed an alternative that if necessary, the NDA should induct OPS and Dhinakaran independently, rather than forcing the AIADMK to take them back.

His hard line was reinforced when he stripped Sengottaiyan — who had been pushing for the return of the former leaders — of all party posts recently.

The DMK, meanwhile, has seized on the public squabble as further proof of the BJP's overreach within the AIADMK. For the BJP, however, the challenge is more immediate. Unless it manages to expand its alliance beyond the AIADMK, its prospects of denting the DMK-led bloc in Tamil Nadu could remain limited.