CHENNAI: The relentless efforts by the BJP to bring back disgruntled ex-ally AMMK finally bore fruits on Wednesday, after the party leader, TTV Dhinakaran, formally returned the NDA ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls in the presence of Union Minister and BJP's Tamil Nadu election in-charge Piyush Goyal.
You already know who the NDA's CM candidate is. It has already been declaredTTV Dhinakaran
Announcing the AMMK's return, which is expected to win back at least a portion of the Thevar votes that the opposition front lost, Dhinakaran said political accommodation, when guided by larger interests, should not be viewed as a weakness.
"Those who make compromises do not lose out. Keeping in mind the welfare of the party and the interests of Tamil Nadu, we have decided to rejoin the NDA," he told reporters.
When the media probed him about NDA's chief ministerial candidate, considering how he repeatedly and publicly waged a war against AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, Dhinakaran was guarded in his response, saying, "You already know who the NDA's CM candidate is. It has already been declared."
While he claimed that no discussion has happened so far on seats, and even termed rumours about it as baseless and misleading, BJP sources said the party is likely to get between six and ten Assembly seats from the Saffron party’s quota.
Welcoming Dhinakaran back into the NDA fold, Goyal said he was personally very happy with the development.
"My good friend and senior leader, my brother Dhinakaran ji, has decided to come back to the NDA family. I have seen his work, popularity and leadership over many years," he said, recalling Dhinakaran's 2004-07 Rajya Sabha stint.
Addressing the joint press conference in Nungambakkam, Goyal said the NDA would function as a cohesive bloc to defeat what he described as an incompetent and corrupt DMK government. "The DMK government is attacking the people of Tamil Nadu, Tamil culture, and Tamil pride. We are deeply hurt by this. The NDA will work together as one family and defeat the DMK alliance," he said.
Goyal added that the NDA's leadership in Tamil Nadu stood consolidated with the presence of AIADMK leader Edappadi Palaniswami, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, Tamil Maanila Congress leader GK Vasan and other alliance partners. "All of us are committed to removing this DMK government and providing good leadership, good governance and a secure future for the youth of Tamil Nadu," he added.
The decision to bring AMMK back into the NDA was finalised at a meeting attended by Union Minister L Murugan, BJP State president Nainar Nagenthran, senior leader Vanathi Srinivasan, and other senior functionaries.