Alliance matters: Annamalai says Amit Shah wants coalition govt in TN

CHENNAI: Signs of tension building up in the AIADMK-BJP alliance emerged on Thursday, with the two parties engaging in public sparring over sharing of power in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 assembly elections.A day after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said that Union home minister Amit Shah had never spoken about forming a coalition govt in the state, former BJP state president K Annamalai countered the claim, stating that Shah had clearly and repeatedly said he wanted a coalition govt.“Amit Shah has said not once, but thrice, that there will be a coalition govt in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 elections,” Annamalai told reporters here on Thursday.

He added that if AIADMK disagreed, they should speak directly with Shah and resolve the issue. He said it was Shah who stitched together the BJP-AIADMK alliance. Annamalai also claimed that parties such as PMK, DMDK and Puthiya Tamizhagam supported the idea of a coalition govt in TN.Annamalai added that his remarks should not been seen as an attempt to create a rift in the alliance. “Some people might claim that I am saying this in an attempt to break the alliance.

As a BJP worker, I echo my leader’s view. If I can’t stand by my leader’s words, there’s no point in being a party cadre,” he said.Annamalai’s remarks come against the backdrop of EPS repeatedly dismissing the idea of a coalition govt and asserting that his word was final regarding the AIADMK front in TN. Other senior leaders, though cautious in their remarks, upheld their positions. Union minister of state L Murugan said Shah’s statement on the coalition was final as far as BJP is concerned, while AIADMK deputy general secretary K P Munusamy had maintained that EPS’s stand was final.