File photo of Union Home Minister Amit shah.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Top sources have confirmed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to visit Chennai next week. This comes amid the recent political developments in Tamil Nadu, including speculations of an alliance between the BJP and the AIADMK and BJP State president K. Annamalai ruling himself out of the race for the party chief post.
According to the sources, Mr. Shah would be in Chennai between the late evening of April 10 and April 11, and is scheduled to meet S. Gurumurthy, editor of Thuglak. Other details of his itinerary are not firmed up as of now.
Mr. Shah’s visit to Chennai comes a week after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami called on him in New Delhi – a move that sparked speculations that the BJP was looking to contest in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election on an alliance with the Dravidian major.
Mr. Annamalai has publicly stated that he would not be leading the party in Tamil Nadu for the 2026 Assembly election, and a replacement would be elected soon.
Sources within the BJP said that the party was keen to secure the alliance with the AIADMK as it felt that there was a need to politically harness an “anti-incumbency” against the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu. “People will only vote out a government if there is a credible alternative in its place,” a source said.
The BJP has prioritised stitching up an alliance with the AIADMK and only on securing this would talks with the PMK or even the NTK be taken forward, the sources added.
Published – April 06, 2025 07:43 am IST