AIADMK softens stand on BJP alliance ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha election
Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK appeared to be moving towards an electoral alliance with the BJP in February 2019, only weeks after some of its leaders had said the party’s workers were firmly opposed to such a pact. Some political sources in Chennai and New Delhi described the arrangement as almost complete, while others said BJP president Amit Shah would finalise it soon, possibly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Kanyakumari on February 19.
Talks with the BJP leadership
The AIADMK was reported to have deputed its ministers to negotiate with senior BJP figures, among them party president Amit Shah, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nitin Gadkari, both Union ministers. Last week the party had also signalled that a tie-up was taking shape.
An about-turn
The shift marked a sharp change in tone. AIADMK spokesperson C Ponnaiyan had earlier said party workers did not want to ally with the BJP, arguing that Modi’s party had done little for Tamil Nadu, particularly on the Cauvery water dispute with Karnataka.
Senior leader M Thambidurai had also been critical. Months earlier he said the AIADMK would only partner a party that was good for the state, and he dismissed the “pro-poor” measures in the Centre’s interim budget as election promises. The party is now reported to be citing those same measures to justify its change of position.
Background
In the 2014 general election the AIADMK won 37 of Tamil Nadu’s seats, while the BJP, rebuffed by Jayalalithaa, contested alongside the MDMK, PMK and DMDK and won only two. Since Jayalalithaa’s death, the AIADMK has split. A rebel faction backed her long-time aide VK Sasikala, whose attempt to take control of the party and the chief minister’s post failed before she was jailed in a corruption case. Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dhinakaran launched the AMMK and won Jayalalithaa’s former RK Nagar seat in a by-election.
What happened next
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, held between 11 April and 19 May and counted on 23 May, the BJP won 303 of 543 seats and Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.
See also: Bharatiya Janata Party and election coverage.
Originally published on 13 February 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.
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