Chennai: In the post-election scenario, the AIADMK and BJP that did not win even a single seat in the State have started a war of words each claiming to have done better than the other and both posturing as the only potential rival to defeat the DMK in the Assembly elections in 2026 even as three old AIADMK leaders gave a clarion call for unity in their party.
While AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami categorically denied that the BJP’s vote share in the State had now gone up by reeling out figures, the BJP said that only it alone could defeat the DMK since the followers of M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa had now turned to the BJP and following Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
State BJP spokesperson A N S Prasad, in a statement on Saturday, said the 11.24 percent vote share of the party in the Lok Sabha polls would pave the way for a political change and that the BJP would form a coalition government in 2026.
Palaniswami, addressing the media in Salem, however, said that the vote share of the AIADMK alone had gone up by one per cent from the 2019 figures while that of the BJP and DMK had seen a downward trend and ruled out any more alliance with any of the national parties as it did not help them establishing the State’s rights.
He too exuded confidence over the AIADMK capturing power in the State in 2026 and summarily dismissed a clarion call for unity given by some leaders like V K Sasikala and O Panneerselvam, saying those were closed chapters.
Later, three senior political leaders of the AIADMK who were earlier with Panneerselvam after the break in the party, JCD Prabakar, V Pugazhendhi and K C Palaiswamy, met media persons in Chennai to unveil their plan to embark on a mission to bring together all the leaders.
They said that they would meet Palaniswami and try to convince him as he had ruled out the possibility of a unity and also Sasikala and O Panneerselvam. Prabakaran said that he was inspired to launch the ‘unite AIADMK’ mission after a message posted on X stressing on the need for unity received positive responses from cadre.
The three leaders said that it was distressing to see the 55-year-old party that had been the number one in the State coming down the third position in the elections in some constituencies. To be told that the electoral fight for supremacy in the State would be between the DMK and BJP was unacceptable to them, they said, adding that it should be only between the AIADMK and DMK.
Asked about the unity moves, Palaniswami blamed Pannerselvam for the splintering of the AIADMK and said that he had certain dreams that did not materialize and hence was trying to unite the party now.
He ruled out a future alliance with the BJP and blamed State leaders of the BJP like K Annamalai for the party’s debacle in the elections. His party did not win any seats because the people of the State would vote differently in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, he said, adding in the next Assembly elections the AIADMK would triumph.
