AIADMK-BJP alliance teeters on the edge, party leaders’ discreet visit to Delhi fails to make a breakthrough

Responding to Annamalai, AIADMK’s spokesperson D Jayakumar said the alliance with the BJP was non-existent, with a final decision anticipated only before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Jayakumar compared Annamalai to a “destructive pest”, highlighting the rift his remarks have created in the alliance. In response, Annamalai said there was no rift between the allies and repeated that he, as a state chief of the BJP, cannot publicly recognise Palaniswami as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu.

A week after Palaniswami met Amit Shah in Delhi on September 14, an AIADMK delegation made a discreet trip to Delhi on Friday to meet BJP president J P Nadda and senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal to discuss the ongoing feud. The delegation’s visit had to be kept a secret as it travelled to Delhi after Jayakumar made the “no alliance” statement. The leaders flew from airports outside Tamil Nadu, including two from Kochi and one from Bengaluru, and chose private hotels to stay in Delhi instead of the Tamil Nadu House.

A top AIADMK leader with knowledge of the Delhi meeting told The Indian Express that the delegation had expressed to Nadda their party cadre’s unhappiness and humiliation due to Annamalai’s repeated comments against their party and leadership. “We told him that the gap is widening between the BJP and the AIADMK ahead of the elections … asked him, how does the BJP national leadership expect AIADMK leaders to run the party without self-respect? How can we accept Narendra Modi as the PM candidate and also face humiliating statements from Annamalai? We sought action against him, or demanded the BJP national leadership to appoint an NDA convenor for Tamil Nadu to keep the allies together and keep Annamalai away from this election,” the leader said.

On Sunday evening, AIADMK sources said the Delhi trip did not yield any positive result, with the AIADMK’s calls for the BJP national leadership’s intervention unanswered. “Our call for an NDA convenor appointment remains unheard. This will force Palaniswami to make a strong announcement on Monday after he meets with district secretaries, probably clarifying that there is no alliance with the BJP,” a senior leader said.

Annamalai is sticking to the stand he took in his Madurai speech and, preparing to lead the BJP alone in 2026 as a chief ministerial candidate, he is unwilling to accept Palaniswami as the NDA’s leader in Tamil Nadu, something that the AIADMK has said is crucial to continuing the alliance.

The anticipated announcement by Palaniswami on Monday poses a significant dilemma for the AIADMK as it contemplates the scope of breaking ties with the BJP, which could also endanger it. Such a decision could complicate the situation due to potential corruption charges and FIRs faced by the AIADMK leadership, forcing them to consider maintaining the facade of a coalition.

The threat of central agencies

Two former ministers of the AIADMK told The Indian Express that the future of the alliance remains shrouded in uncertainty. They highlighted challenges faced by their leadership: the implications of breaking the tie-up, upholding the party’s dignity before its cadre amid Annamalai’s frequent remarks against the party, and the silence of the BJP’s national leadership. In the worst possible scenario, should the party decide to end the alliance, one former minister anticipated a situation similar to the fate of Senthil Balaji, a DMK minister the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested.

“Jayakumar said there is no alliance with BJP and a decision will be taken around election time. Palaniswami also will repeat this position on Monday if there is no reply from Delhi tomorrow,” the former minister said. He speculated that former AIADMK ministers might face legal repercussions, referencing the numerous FIRs filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) and other central agencies against their members.

Despite Palaniswami having no FIRs against him, a close aide of his in Salem has been booked by the DVAC and these corruption charges could potentially be taken over by the ED.

Another former minister, a trusted aide of Palaniswami, said an exit from the alliance was possible but only before the election. He voiced fears that an early exit could lead to widespread arrests while a late exit might mitigate the damage. The minister said there was a celebratory response from their cadre to Jayakumar’s statement last week ending the alliance with the BJP in the state. “Many of our cadre on social media celebrated it saying ‘Nandri, Veendum Varaatheergal (Please, do not come again)’ addressed to the BJP,” said the minister.