Ahead of assembly polls: Amit Shah's 'Mission TN'

The rehearsals for the assembly elections 2026 have begun with the recent visit of the Union home minister Amit Shah to Tamil Nadu last week.

- Ramu Manivannan

The stated objective is to review the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s preparedness and strengthening of ties with its allies.

There is a marked difference in the tone and confidence of the BJP in approaching the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. The hard push from the above is for all to witness with the grand bargains and negotiations underway with friends and allies.

There are divergent perspectives about the prospects and limitations because of the ground realities.

Amit Shah's attack against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its leadership conveys the similar disdain and antipathy that BJP holds against Mamta Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal. He has gone on record stating that both TMC in West Bengal and DMK in Tamil Nadu will be defeated in the next assembly elections.

Amit Shah also reiterated with the same intensity that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP will form the next government in Tamil Nadu. Though the ground realities in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are vastly different, the BJP's aggressive approach to the Tamil Nadu assembly elections 2026 cannot be overlooked.

There are inter-party conflicts and intra-party issues within the NDA alliance consisting of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Desia Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT) and the BJP itself.