Where two are fighting, the third wins

In a parting shot, just before leaving last week for a three-month-long sabbatical to the United Kingdom, Tamil Nadu BJP president, K. Annamalai, stridently attacked the general secretary of the AIADMK, Edappadi K. Palaniswami.

In a parting shot, just before leaving last week for a three-month-long sabbatical to the United Kingdom, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president of Tamil Nadu, K. Annamalai, stridently attacked the general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Edappadi K. Palaniswami. Even though he described the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the AIADMK, both Dravidian parties, as the “principal adversaries” of the BJP, Mr. Annamalai was particularly bitter towards Mr. Palaniswami whose party has faced a string of electoral setbacks in the last few years.

Mr. Annamalai’s comment prompted the AIADMK to hold demonstrations in different parts of the State against him. That there is little love lost between the AIADMK and the BJP is well known, but the BJP leader’s persistent tirade against the regional party’s chief, even months after the Lok Sabha elections ended, does not seem to have support from some of his senior colleagues. For instance, the former president of the BJP State unit, Tamilisai Soundararajan, said that while “every leader has their own style of speaking, others must be given due respect.”

Even in March 2023, when the BJP and the AIADMK were in an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Annamalai said that he was against it. Later that year, in September, the AIADMK and the BJP split following Mr. Annamalai’s derogatory comments against AIADMK icons, former Chief Ministers C.N. Annadurai and Jayalalithaa. Notwithstanding his position, the BJP national leadership made every effort to reconcile with the regional party even after the split, knowing well that bravado in politics would not yield electoral dividends. As expected, the split proved beneficial to the DMK-led alliance, which bagged all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the State and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The BJP, which had formed an alliance with the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, the Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), and the group headed by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, among other smaller parties, may not have secured a seat but finished second in 12 constituencies. Its vote share crossed 11%, while the coalition, as a whole, secured 18.24%.

Mr. Annamalai’s offensive against Mr. Palaniswami took place amid reports in the media that the DMK and the BJP were warming up to each other. In mid-August, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh participated at an event to release the centenary commemorative coin of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, which triggered these observations. Mr. Singh, along with Mr. Annamalai, also visited the DMK patriarch’s mausoleum on Marina beach. However, Chief Minister and DMK chief M.K. Stalin dismissed talk of “secret ties” between his party and the BJP and asserted that he would “never give up” the rights of the State.

Mr. Annamalai, who still believes that the DMK and the AIADMK must be treated equally, perhaps hopes that his relentless onslaught on the AIADMK may create greater space for his party in the State. After all, the AIADMK continues to be on a weak wicket. There are no signs of the different groups of followers of the party’s founder, M.G. Ramachandran, and Jayalalithaa coming together again. In the Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK not only drew a blank but also forfeited deposit in seven seats, though its vote share went up by 1% point — from 19.39% in 2019 to 20.46% in 2024. It is clear that its house is not in order.

The tone and tenor of Mr. Annamalai’s language gives the impression that the BJP’s split with the AIADMK is final. Yet, his colleagues regularly point out that any decision on an alliance for the 2026 Assembly elections would be made only by the national leadership.

Meanwhile, in the AIADMK, the constant refrain, whether from Mr. Palaniswami or other senior leaders in the party, is that the party will not ally with the BJP for the 2026 polls. The Dravidian major in fact does not miss an opportunity to criticise the national party. It tried to turn the tables on the DMK after Mr. Singh’s presence at the event in Chennai.