New Delhi: Edappadi Palaniswami, general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) that has allied with the BJP for the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu, said on Wednesday (April 16) that the party would not share power with the BJP in the state after the 2026 elections, according to a report by The New Indian Express.

His statement is in complete contrast with what BJP senior leader and Union home minister Amit Shah said on April 11 at Chennai – that a coalition government led by the AIADMK would come to power in the state soon.

TNIE reported that Palaniswami claimed that Shah had not specified that it would be a coalition government, and said that the media was “misinterpreting and trying to play tricks”.

“He [Shah] didn’t say it would be a coalition government. You are misinterpreting and trying to play tricks. Please stop that,” TNIE quoted Palaniswami as telling reporters at the state secretariat on Wednesday.

Palaniswami said that Shah only meant that the “AIADMK-BJP alliance” would form the government, and that while the alliance would be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level, the alliance in the state of Tamil Nadu would be headed by Palaniswami himself.

“Can’t you understand that?” the TNIE quoted him as saying.

When he was specifically asked during the presser announcing the AIADMK-BJP alliance last week whether the two parties would form a coalition government, Shah responded: “Yes. We will form a government together. We will fight the elections under Palaniswami’s leadership.”

In September 2023, the AIADMK left the National Democratic Alliance after it accused the BJP of not being able to rein in its then-state chief K. Annamalai, who it said was making “controversial” remarks against AIADMK leaders, including J. Jayalalithaa and C.N. Annadurai.

Jayalalithaa and Annadurai are former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, while the latter is considered the political mentor of AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran.

Shortly after the AIADMK and the BJP announced their alliance on April 11, Annamalai was replaced by Tirunelveli MLA Nainar Nagendran as the saffron party’s state unit chief.

It has also been noted that both Palaniswami and Annamalai belong to the Gounder community, while the BJP is of the belief that “balancing caste representation is key to expanding its vote base” in the state, reported the Indian Express.

Nagendran belongs to the Thevar community.