No coalition in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK will emerge as single largest party: Palaniswami draws the line

Union home minister Amit Shah with AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (Image: PTI)

AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday asserted that there would be no coalition government in Tamil Nadu, emphasising that his party will emerge as the single largest in 2026 assembly polls.

“There will be no coalition government in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK will become the single largest party," Palaniswami told News18.

“We will keep our doors open for the TVK (actor Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam). Whoever wants to defeat the DMK should join hands with the AIADMK," he added.

With over eight months to go before polls in the state, Palaniswami’s latest remarks have left observers puzzled over the functioning of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state.

While home minister Amit Shah has maintained that NDA would establish a coalition government in Tamil Nadu upon victory, Palaniswami has repeatedly countered that the BJP leader only meant the alliance would secure power.

"He says our alliance will form the government. I have already made it clear—who is heading this alliance? So it’s my decision, right? Who becomes CM, who forms the government—both of us (Shah and I) have made it clear," he told reporters.

He said that it has been made clear that the AIADMK will lead the NDA, form the government, and that he will be the CM should the alliance emerge victorious.

"No attempts to create a rift in the alliance will succeed. This is a stable alliance," he added.

Furthermore, the opposition leader claimed the DMK did not expect the AIADMK to forge an alliance, and therefore was criticising the opposition grouping "out of fear".

He recalled that the DMK had, in the past, aligned with the BJP, and asked if it was acceptable for the Dravidian party to do so then, but now label the BJP "communal" when the AIADMK has allied with it.