AIADMK to form govt as 'single largest party'

DESISTING from directly responding to Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah's recent remarks that TN will have an NDA coalition government in 2026 led by the AIADMK, leader of the opposition and AIADMK's general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said that the party will win "more constituencies" and form government as the "single largest party".

- T MURUGANANDHAM @ Chennai

Addressing a public meeting in Ulundurpet in Kallakurichi district on Sunday night, he further said no one would be able to "swallow" the AIADMK as alleged by the DMK.

The idea of a coalition government has been a sticking point in the AIADMK-BJP alliance right from the day it was announced by Shah in Chennai on April 11, when he said that the alliance will win the 2026 Assembly election and form a coalition government.

As this did not go down well with AIADMK's rank and file since Tamil Nadu has never had a coalition government, Palaniswami, who maintained silence initially, told the media a few days later that Shah's words were misinterpreted.

However, the issue has cropped again as Shah, in a recent interview to a Tamil media outlet, clearly said that there will be coalition government in 2026 in TN and that the BJP will be a part of it.