Only electoral alliance with BJP, no coalition govt: EPS

Chennai: AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Wednesday clarified that the party’s renewed alliance with the BJP is strictly for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, ruling out the possibility of forming a coalition government with it.

“He (Union Minister Amit Shah) never spoke about forming a coalition government. We have entered into an electoral alliance, not a governance pact,” EPS told reporters after walking out of the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

The AIADMK staged the walkout in protest against the House not taking up the no-confidence motion it had moved against the ruling DMK government.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Palaniswami was responding to persistent media queries regarding Union Home Minister Shah’s remarks during his visit to Chennai on April 11, where he had announced the revival of the AIADMK-BJP alliance and reportedly mentioned the formation of a “coalition government” in Tamil Nadu.