CHENNAI: Hours after sealing an alliance with the Anbumani Ramadoss-led PMK, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday left for New Delhi to meet senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the expansion of the alliance in Tamil Nadu ahead of the ensuing Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Palaniswami said he would meet Shah at 9 pm on Wednesday. In a lighter vein, he remarked he would speak to the media after the meeting and asked reporters not to suggest that he hid his face with kerchief, as had been alleged on a previous occasion.
According to sources, the meeting will focus on formulating action plans to further strengthen the NDA in the state. Discussions are expected to include the possible induction of TTV Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam into the alliance. Talks may also be held on bringing in the DMDK and on the political situation involving S Ramadoss, who is locked in a tussle with his son Anbumani, who has joined the NDA fold earlier in the day.
Sources said seat-sharing arrangements between the AIADMK and the BJP would form a key part of the discussions, especially as the BJP plans to contest a significantly higher number of seats in the forthcoming elections. In the 2021 Assembly polls, the BJP contested 20 seats and won four.
The meeting is also expected to assess the DMK’s electoral strategy and the potential impact of actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam on the 2026 Assembly elections.
Following the talks between Palaniswami and Shah, a revised framework of the NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu is expected to emerge, with greater clarity on expansion, seat-sharing and campaign strategy.