AIADMK’s vote share has increased, no ties with BJP for 2026 election, says EPS

AIADMK’s vote share has increased, no ties with BJP for 2026 election, says AIADMK leader Edappadi Palaniswami

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Saturday that compared with the 2019 general election, his party had secured one per cent more votes this time, and ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the BJP for the 2026 Assembly election in the State.

After a meeting with the AIADMK functionaries at Omalur, in the wake of the Lok Sabha election results, he told reporters that the DMK and the BJP had so many prominent personalities who campaigned for them. “However, for our alliance, only me and Premallatha Vijayakant [of the DMDK] had campaigned. However, this time, the AIADMK gained one per cent more votes than what it got in 2019. Even the vote shares of the DMK, its alliance, and the BJP-led front have reduced, compared with the 2019 and 2014 general elections,” Mr. Palaniswami said.

On former AIADMK leaders O. Panneerselvam and V.K. Sasikala appealing for unity among supporters of late leaders M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, he said, “They [Mr. Panneerselvam and Ms. Sasikala] had joined hands with the enemies and are trying to create problems. The AIADMK secured more votes this time owing to their absence. The setback for the party in southern Tamil Nadu will be sorted out soon.”

Compared with the votes that the BJP candidate in Coimbatore garnered in 2014, BJP State president K. Annamalai, who contested from Coimbatore this time, got fewer votes. “But the media claim that the BJP’s vote share has increased. People vote differently in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. In the 2026 Assembly election, the people will vote for the AIADMK-led alliance, and we will capture power with a majority,” he added.

On former Minister S.P. Velumani’s statement that the AIADMK-led front would have won 35-40 seats had its alliance with the BJP remained intact, Mr. Palaniswami said Mr. Velumani had spoken about an article that appeared in a newspaper and the media had misrepresented his statement.

“The national parties will use the regional parties till elections and forget them afterwards. So the AIADMK decided to contest on its own to protect the rights of Tamil Nadu,” he added.