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CHENNAI: Union minister and BJP’s Tamil Nadu election in-charge Piyush Goyal on Tuesday met AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami in Chennai, signalling the start of structured alliance talks ahead of the 2026 assembly election.He was “delighted to meet his dear friend and brother EPS”, Goyal said in a joint press meet with EPS, adding that their discussions revolved around strengthening political work and fighting the assembly election under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.
BJP and AIADMK discussed about the potential allies who can be inducted into NDA including PMK and DMDK. Inducting a few more smaller parties were also discussed. It was agreed that BJP would reach out to those parties ready to contest under the lotus symbol, while AIADMK would hold talks with those willing to contest in the two-leaves symbol.While the issue of O Panneerselvam and T T V Dhinakaran was raised during the meeting, no decision was taken.“Tamil Nadu has suffered under the corrupt regime of DMK. It is important for the people of TN to get a good govt, which is focussed on development and better future,’’ Goyal said. EPS said there was public anger across the state. “There is a growing demand to remove the DMK govt from power. NDA would work together to achieve this objective,’’ he added.The two leaders refused to divulge details of seat sharing between BJP and AIADMK.Goyal, on his first visit to Chennai after being put in charge of TN, began the day with a closed-door meeting with BJP functionaries at the party headquarters.State president Nainar Nagenthran, Tamilisai Soundararajan, Vanathi Srinivasan and Union minister L Murugan were present. Goyal took stock of the possibilities to strengthen NDA in TN. “He sought details about the stand taken by AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam,” said a BJP leader. Goyal also briefly discussed TVK and its possible impact.BJP leaders identified around 50 assembly constituencies where the party secured more than 20% vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Sources said Goyal acknowledged the data but indicated that seat-sharing would be taken up after consultations with Union home minister Amit Shah and after firming up alliance composition.Goyal then met EPS at a private hotel in RA Puram. Senior AIADMK leaders S P Velumani, P Thangamani and K P Munusamy were present. After the meeting, EPS said both sides had exchanged views on the political situation and discussed the need for coordinated efforts among AIADMK, BJP and other NDA partners for the 2026 polls.Sources said no specific seat numbers were discussed, though BJP conveyed its interest in contesting more seats than in 2021, when it was allotted 20 constituencies. AIADMK agreed in principle, with EPS indicating that final decisions would be taken once the alliance composition was firmed up.After meeting EPS, Goyal held another review meeting with BJP leaders. Goyal had a brief meeting with Governor R N Ravi before flying out. He is expected to return to Chennai next month, closer to Prime Minister Modi’s visit, when alliance talks are likely to be taken forward.St Coimbatore airport later in the day, Nainar said there were no permanent friends or enemies in politics when asked about the possibility of inducting T T V Dhinakaran in NDA. “There are still three months for the election, and anything can happen,” he said.
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