New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah will be travelling to poll-bound Tamil Nadu later this month to have talks with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leaders, people aware of the matter said. Shah is also scheduled to visit Bihar, where elections will be held later this year and West Bengal that will go to the polls in 2026.
Although the party has chosen to delink the visit to Tamil Nadu with the incipient alliance talks, there is a possibility that the minister will meet senior AIADMK leaders in the state, which goes to polls in 2026.
In March, AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami met Shah in the Capital, fuelling speculation that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could forge an alliance with the AIADMK ahead of the state polls to put up a formidable front against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). “He has a meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue S Gurumurthy and some party functionaries,” a person aware of the details said, declining to comment on whether talks with the AIADMK leaders are on the agenda.
Also Read: Amit Shah urges Maoists to surrender, join Bastar’s development journey
There has been pressure on the central leadership from a section of the state leaders to renew ties with the AIADMK, which will allow the party to expand its footprint in the state and leverage the anti-DMK sentiment on the ground.
“There have been several rounds of talks between the leaders of both the parties to assess the possibility of an alliance and how it will shape up, and we are expecting an announcement to be made close on the heels of the organisational reshuffle in the state ,” a party functionary said, requesting anonymity.
With state president K Annamalai stepping down, all eyes are on who the party will pick as his successor, particularly since the alliance will hinge on how well the state leaders get along. Annamalai’s confrontational stance with the AIADMK was one of the main reasons for the alliance fracturing. The announcement of a new state chief is expected shortly.
A section of leaders in both the BJP and the AIADMK feel that an alliance of parties against the DMK will stand a better chance of ousting the party from power in the state.
The AIADMK announced its exit from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2023, after differences cropped up between the allies over the statements made by Annamalai, who was appointed as state president in July 2021.
Also Read: Amit Shah moves resolution on President’s Rule in Manipur at 2 am
The party’s decision to not support the Waqf (Amendment) Bill that was passed in both houses did raise eyebrows in the BJP, but leaders chose not to comment on the issue. The AIADMK chose to vote against the Bill that seeks to bring widespread changes in the management of the Waqf boards. “They are not our allies at present, so it was up to the party to decide…even MPs from other parties (BJD and YSRCP) voted as per their choice,” the person quoted above said.
At present the NDA comprises the BJP and the PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi) headed by Anbumani Ramadoss and the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), and others.
In the 2021 state polls, the DMK with 133 of the 234 seats formed government, while the AIADMK’s tally fell from 136 to 66, the BJP won 4 and the PMK won 5.
Considered the party’s master strategist, Shah is expected to be in Bihar later this month to oversee the party’s preparation for the polls that will see the BJP and allies contesting under the NDA umbrella.
Also Read: Amit Shah urges Maoists to surrender, join Bastar’s development journey
“During his last visit (on March 29, 30) he met some of the state functionaries and was apprised of the party’s position on the ground. During the upcoming two-day visit, the dates for which will soon be finalised, the minister will give instructions for the election strategy,” a state leader said.
The visit to West Bengal, also to be announced shortly, is again to galvanise the party cadre and give direction for the election campaign and the strategy to taken on the ruling Trinamool Congress.
On Friday, the party’s lawmakers raised the issue of discrepancies in the teacher’s recruitment in the state and the Supreme Court’s directions on the issue. In the Rajya Sabha, BJP’s Laxmikant Bajpayee said that in 2016, the West Bengal government had recruited over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff without adhering to proper procedure. As the BJP lawmakers raised slogans against the state government, the House was adjourned for 30 minutes. In 2021, the BJP had won 77 seats in the 294-member state assembly.