Why BJP wants Piyush Goyal to lead its ambitious Tamil Nadu election campaign

Piyush Goyal replaced Lok Sabha member Baijayant Panda who was appointed the election in-charge for Tamil Nadu in September this year.

With an aim of expanding the NDA footprint in the state, the BJP appointed Union Minister Piyush Goyal as the election in-charge for Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2026 polls.

Goyal replaced Lok Sabha member Baijayant Panda who was appointed the election in-charge for Tamil Nadu in September this year.

Goyal was appointed after BJP Tamil Nadu president Nainar Nagenthran met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on December 14.

Tamil Nadu has 234 assembly constituencies. In the 2021 Assembly election, the DMK and its alliance parties such as the Congress, MDMK, VCK, CPI, CPM, IUML, MMK, TVK, ATP, AIFB and MVK together won 159 seats. DMK alone won 126 seats and formed the government with a simple majority.

The BJP won four seats of the 20 it contested in Tamil Nadu. Familiarity of the candidates in their constituencies, and the alliance with AIADMK helped the BJP open its account for the first time since 2001, when it had won the same number of seats as part of the DMK combine.

Despite drawing a blank, the BJP increased its vote share in Tamil Nadu to double-digit in the 2024 Lok Sabha election without having any alliance with either the DMK or the AIADMK.

Why did BJP appoint Goyal?

Nagendran submitted a list of 65 constituencies that the BJP could demand from the AIADMK for the 2026 assembly elections.

Goyal, who has been a part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet holding various key portfolios since 2014, enjoys the confidence of the BJP brass. He also played an important role in coordinating the election efforts of the party in various states.

“It is in this backdrop that Piyush Goyal has been appointed as the election in-charge for the state. Because, in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it was because of him that BJP was able to contest in about five seats and he is said to have a good rapport with the AIADMK leadership here,” a senior functionary in the BJP told ThePrint.

Goyal is said to have played an instrumental role in the seat-sharing arrangement, which was crucial for building a formidable coalition in a state traditionally dominated by Dravidian parties.

He also coordinated effectively between the central BJP leadership and the state unit, ensuring a cohesive strategy.

Political analyst TS Sudhir told India Today TV that the BJP-AIADMK alliance is much needed.

"With EPS as the face of the alliance, in many ways, I see this as a repeat of the Andhra Pradesh template--where Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP was the senior partner and the BJP the junior partner," said Sudhir.

Together with AIADMK, which achieved a vote share of 20.46%, and other allied parties, the BJP-AIADMK alliance is expected to challenge the ruling DMK-led secular alliance, which is grappling with anti-incumbency and corruption allegations.