Overview
- Amit Shah told a Pudukottai rally that an NDA government would take office in Tamil Nadu in April 2026 and labeled the DMK the country's most corrupt, alleging a '20 percent cut' culture and dynastic intent centered on Udhayanidhi Stalin.
- Party sources said Shah ordered a 'do-or-die' campaign with intensified outreach, sharper social media messaging, early candidate identification, and outreach to all anti-DMK forces, including exploratory talks linked to Vijay’s TVK.
- Shah paired strategy sessions with cultural signaling, offering prayers at Jambukeswarar and Ranganathaswamy temples and attending a 'Modi Pongal' event that organizers said drew over 2,000 participants with 1,008 Pongal pots.
- Alliance strains were on display as AIADMK chief E.K. Palaniswami skipped a meeting with Shah and later said his party would form a majority on its own, even as senior AIADMK leader S.P. Velumani met Shah twice in Tiruchi.
- The BJP’s expansion drive faces fluid partner dynamics, with PMK split into rival factions, DMDK yet to clarify its stand, and reports of OPS and T.T.V. Dhinakaran gravitating toward TVK; Shah’s visit ended without a clear breakthrough on seat-sharing.