WHILE AIADMK general secretary E Palaniswami officially denied any alliance talks with the BJP on Wednesday, sources said the meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah held the previous evening had been productive, with the AIADMK laying down its basic conditions. Speaking to reporters at the Delhi airport on his way back to Chennai, Palaniswami said he had met Shah to discuss issues concerning Tamil Nadu. “There were no talks related to an alliance. There is one more year until the elections, and there is no need to discuss an alliance (now). Alliances will change based on the situation,” he said. However, both AIADMK and BJP sources said the talks centred around a tie-up for the 2026 Assembly polls, with Palaniswami telling Shah that the chief ministerial candidate would have to be from the AIADMK, his party would have the final say on alliance decisions, and the BJP must not interfere in the party’s internal affairs. Sources added that another sore issue with the AIADMK, about the BJP’s backing for its rebels T T V Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam, was not raised Tuesday night. However, they said, the AIADMK had earlier conveyed to the BJP that the two rebel leaders may be accommodated in the NDA but the AIADMK should not be asked to take them back. The AIADMK condition that the BJP “not interfere” in its affairs is interesting as in the period after J Jayalalithaa’s demise, when the AIADMK was vulnerable, the BJP was believed to have interfered in its running, leading to the split in the party. A senior AIADMK leader familiar with the talks confirmed – as reported by The Indian Express – that the focus of their attack on the DMK government would be “financial charges”, corruption allegations and “lapses in governance”. More rounds of talks are expected in the coming days to work out the nuances of the AIADMK-BJP arrangement. “Delhi has been watching the DMK’s financial operations. We will also share additional inputs on this with Delhi,” the AIADMK leader said. The leader acknowledged they could face hiccups. “There is no doubt that the arithmetic of an AIADMK-BJP alliance remains strong. But the chemistry between the two parties remains a serious question, especially when compared to the relative harmony within the DMK-led alliance,” the leader said. On arrival at Chennai airport, Palaniswami asserted that the AIADMK was focused on “governance”, and said his discussions with Shah included this as regards Tamil Nadu, apart from the National Education Policy’s language condition, the release of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan funds, pending dues for the MNREGS, and funding of railway projects – all issues on which the DMK government is in conflict with the Centre. Palaniswami also stressed the importance of ensuring that any delimitation exercise does not adversely affect Tamil Nadu. The BJP has denied the DMK’s claims that the Centre intends to do this to weaken the South when it comes to national politics. The AIADMK leader said he had talked of law and order concerns, drug trafficking, alleged irregularities in the operations of TASMAC, Tamil Nadu’s state-run liquor retail chain, and the Mekedatu and Mullaperiyar dam disputes. A senior BJP Tamil Nadu leader said that while the AIADMK will insist on a deal where it is not seen as yielding to the BJP, it had few options. “The BJP is already a formidable force in the South, and the AIADMK cannot win seats without the BJP in several pockets of Western Tamil Nadu,” the leader said, adding that the two parties had plenty of time to work out a deal.
