CHENNAI: State BJP president Nainar Nagenthran on Monday extended an invitation to expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam to rejoin the NDA, a move that came merely two days after Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman conveyed the message from the national leadership to the Saffron party leaders in Tamil Nadu to ensure that there were no skirmishes within the NDA ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in 2026.

Panneerselvam had announced on August 31 quit the alliance alleging repeated insults, and followed it up with comments to the media blaming Nainar for his decision.

Speaking to reporters in Tenkasi, Nainar said the NDA's primary objective in Tamil Nadu was to unseat the DMK government in the coming Assembly election. "Our only aim is to defeat the DMK regime in 2026. For that, we want all opposition forces to remain on the same side," he said.

Asked whether there was any possibility of Panneerselvam and AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran aligning with the BJP, Nainar replied, "All leaders, including former chief minister O Panneerselvam, should join the NDA."

He also endorsed expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala's call for the unification of all outfits that splintered from the AIADMK, noting that collective efforts were essential to challenge the DMK.

Earlier, Dhinakaran said that the question whether the AMMK would continue in the NDA should be answered by the BJP's State leadership.

Before he quit the AIADMK and switched over to the BJP, Nainar had a testy relationship with Panneerselvam. When the latter was denied an opportunity to meet senior BJP leader Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their visit to the State, many had attributed it to the troubled ties between him and Nainar.