NDA Will Form Govt in TN in 2026', Says Shah; Slams DMK

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would form a government in Tamil Nadu, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday as he launched a scathing attack on the MK Stalin-led DMK government for "rising corruption, crimes against women and drug mafia" over the last four years.

- Divya Chandrababu

CHENNAI:

He also reiterated his demand to the state government for teaching medical and engineering courses in Tamil.

"I live in Delhi, but my ears are always on Tamil Nadu," Shah said. "The chief minister here says that Amit Shah cannot defeat the DMK. He is right. It won't be me. But, the people of Tamil Nadu will defeat the DMK," Shah said at a rally in Madurai.

He added: "MK Stalin says that Amit Shah cannot defeat DMK. He is right. It's not me, but the people of Tamil Nadu will defeat you."

Both Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are set to go to polls next year.

On April 11, Shah announced that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will fight the 2026 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu together under the leadership of former chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami.

The announcement, which renewed an alliance that broke off in 2023 amid acrimony, has made the 2026 contest four-cornered—the DMK-led INDIA bloc, the AIADMK-led NDA, Seeman's Naam Tamizhar Katchi, and political debutant actor Vijay's Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam.

The incumbent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has won every election in Tamil Nadu since 2019 and the NDA hopes to maximize its chances by roping in the big Dravidian rival, which last won a state poll in 2016.

The AIADMK, which has ruled Tamil Nadu for 30 out of the last 47 years, has lost every election since J Jayalalithaa's death in 2016.

During his visit to Madurai on Sunday, Shah reiterated his demand to the ruling DMK to teach medical and engineering courses in Tamil.