In the long story of Tamil Nadu, where two Dravidian parties have for decades kept national forces at the margins, an uneasy partnership between the BJP and the AIADMK is showing its seams. Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai's blunt words about allies, and Edappadi Palaniswami's refusal to dignify them, reveal less a sudden rupture than a familiar contest over who needs whom more. Both parties are weighing the cost of closeness against the cost of standing alone, with the 2024 national election as the horizon that will eventually decide which calculation wins.
Breakup or bargaining chip? BJP and AIADMK's public feud in Tamil Nadu ahead of 2024
"No one is our partner, everyone is our enemy."
Mark
Why does a public fight between allies matter this much?
Mimi
Because the two have to share seats in 2024. Annamalai saying no one is a partner, while the BJP centre still wants the alliance, suggests the noise is aimed at the bargaining table.
Mark
So is it a breakup or a tactic?
Luke
That's the real question, and the reporting leans on sources. The bargaining-power reading comes from unnamed BJP sources and an analyst. Nobody on record in the central leadership has said so.
Mimi
True, but the BJP general secretary's remark about permitted pressure for seat talks is quite pointed.
Mark
What does the AIADMK get out of the arrangement?
Mimi
A national partner, though a senior leader says the BJP's stands on NEET and the two-language formula clash with the party's. Panneerselvan also points to pending court cases as leverage.
Luke
That leverage claim is his analysis. The article doesn't show any actual use of the cases against the party.
Mark
And the AIADMK reaching out to other allies?
Luke
Attributed to party sources, no names of prospective partners. Still unknown.
Mimi
What we do know is Annamalai hasn't been visibly checked by Delhi, which is why even analysts say they can't read the plan.
Il Polso
- Annamalai's declaration that 'no one is our partner' has jolted an alliance that is supposed to be presenting a united front.
- EPS answers reporters with silence and a request to stop asking, while AIADMK spokespeople dismiss the BJP state chief as a publicity seeker.
- Inside the BJP, state leaders worry the public sparring will confuse and demoralise cadres on both sides, even as the central leadership quietly tolerates it.
- Both parties are hedging: the BJP weighs the risk of a solo run against its thin base, while the AIADMK courts other partners and prepares its organisation.
- The rift is landing in a bargaining standoff, and whether seat-sharing talks heal it or tip either side toward new alliances remains open.
In the long story of Tamil Nadu, where two Dravidian parties have for decades kept national forces at the margins, an uneasy partnership between the BJP and the AIADMK is showing its seams. Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai's blunt words about allies, and Edappadi Palaniswami's refusal to dignify them, reveal less a sudden rupture than a familiar contest over who needs whom more. Both parties are weighing the cost of closeness against the cost of standing alone, with the 2024 national election as the horizon that will eventually decide which calculation wins.
In Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai told a crowd that no one was the party's partner and everyone was its enemy. In Salem, his target, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, gave reporters a single request: do not ask him about it. The exchange is the latest crack in an alliance that is formally intact but increasingly strained as the 2024 Lok Sabha election draws near.
Beneath the public barbs lies a calculation. BJP sources say the central leadership still wants the partnership, but has allowed Annamalai room to press the AIADMK now and then, which strengthens the BJP's hand when seats are divided. Yet Annamalai has also urged the leadership to contest alone, and the party has answered that it will go with an alliance partner, since its presence in Tamil Nadu is limited and it has already lost allies elsewhere.
The AIADMK has chosen to ignore him. Its spokespeople call the remarks a bid for personal publicity, and party sources say its leaders are growing wary and quietly approaching other possible partners. Inside the BJP, some Tamil Nadu leaders worry the feud confuses cadres, though their views have not moved the national leadership.
Analysts read the dependence as mutual. The BJP needs a Dravidian partner to gain leverage in the state, while the AIADMK, weakened since Jayalalithaa's death, has its own tensions with the centre over NEET, the National Education Policy and language policy. For now the AIADMK is focused on building its organisation, and the question is whether seat-sharing talks will settle the quarrel or push either party toward going alone or finding new allies.
Last week in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai told an audience, "No one is our partner, everyone is our enemy." In Salem, the man most likely to feel that remark, AIADMK general secretary and former chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, known as EPS, gave reporters a short answer: please don't ask me about him.
The exchange is the latest sign of a widening rift between two parties that are formally allies in the state. With the 2024 Lok Sabha election approaching, their leaders have repeatedly clashed. Last month Annamalai spoke against allying with the AIADMK for the national vote. The two parties also fought a poaching war, each inducting a number of the other's workers.
According to BJP sources, the party's central leadership still wants the alliance. It has, however, given Annamalai room to needle the partner now and then, enough to raise the BJP's bargaining power. A BJP general secretary said the state unit was advised to avoid attacking allies, but efforts to build a stronger organisation and a narrative that adds pressure for a better share of seats in seat talks have been permitted. Another senior central functionary said Annamalai keeps urging the leadership to contest without the AIADMK, and the party has told him it will go with an alliance partner. With the BJP having lost allies in states such as Bihar and Punjab, the top leadership considers a solo run in Tamil Nadu unwise given its limited presence.
The AIADMK's response has been to look past him. Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan told ThePrint that an alliance has a Lakshman Rekha, a line one must know not to cross, and said Annamalai's remarks reflect a bid for personal mileage. He added that Annamalai is not Arvind Kejriwal and cannot suddenly become a corruption crusader. Organisational secretary Aadhi Rajaram said the party head worries only about the BJP's national leadership, and that what Annamalai says is of no importance. Party sources say AIADMK leaders are growing wary of the alliance and have begun approaching other possible partners.
Inside the BJP, there is some unease too. State vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said the war of words between top leaders sends the wrong message and will hurt cadres of both parties. He said the BJP will keep campaigning against corruption, and that Annamalai has promised to expose the corrupt in any party. If the AIADMK thinks he was speaking about it, Thirupathy said, the BJP is not responsible. A senior BJP functionary in Delhi said some Tamil Nadu leaders have criticised Annamalai's approach to the alliance, but their views have not gained traction with the national leadership. Annamalai did not respond to ThePrint's calls.
The backdrop is a state where the DMK and AIADMK have kept national parties from dominating for five decades. The BJP won four assembly seats in 2021 after a 20-year gap, but its vote share was only 2.6 per cent. Annamalai, a former IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre, became state president afterward and has kept the party in the news with constant attacks on the ruling DMK. A Tamil Nadu BJP functionary said the DMK and AIADMK are now forced to reply to him.
Analysts see dependence running both ways. A senior AIADMK leader no longer active in politics said the BJP needs a Dravidian partner to gain leverage in the state. A.S. Panneerselvan of Chennai's Roja Muthiah Research Library argued that since J. Jayalalithaa's death in 2016 the AIADMK has been at the BJP's mercy, with cases still pending, including V.K. Sasikala's challenge to her removal as general secretary. He also noted that the central leadership has taken no visible action against Annamalai, leaving its plan unclear, and called the sparring the BJP's way of staying politically relevant. The AIADMK leader added that NEET, the National Education Policy and the two-language formula put the party at odds with the BJP's central stand. Party sources say EPS has hardened his position and does not want to appear dependent.
Meanwhile, with the EPS and O. Panneerselvam leadership tussle on temporary pause, the AIADMK is building its organisation, aiming for 2 crore members and stronger booth committees. Former minister B. Valarmathi said cadres, about 1.5 crore of them, will follow whatever alliance decision the leadership makes closer to the election. What to watch is whether seat-sharing talks settle the quarrel, or whether either side heads toward going alone or finding new partners.
Citazioni salienti
Our party head will only worry about the BJP national leadership. What Annamalai says is of no importance to us.— Aadhi Rajaram, AIADMK organisational secretary
The BJP national leadership has not taken any visible action against Annamalai.— A.S. Panneerselvan, Roja Muthiah Research Library
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