Addressing a meeting of DMK youth wing office-bearers in Tiruvannamalai, Stalin said Shah had become “arrogant” after the BJP’s third consecutive term at the Centre. “Even if he brings the entire Sangh Parivar, they will not be able to do anything in Tamil Nadu,” Stalin told party workers, drawing applause from the gathering.
The chief minister’s remarks came in response to Shah’s statement made last week in Ahmedabad, where the Home Minister said that after Bihar, NDA governments would be formed in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, asking chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and M.K. Stalin to “be ready.”
With the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections due in 2026—the current House’s term ends in May—Stalin urged party cadres to intensify grassroots mobilisation. He cautioned that the BJP had become more aggressive since 2024 and accused it of relying on “false promises and divisive politics.” The DMK, he said, must counter this with a principled campaign rooted in social justice, federalism and linguistic rights.
Stalin reiterated that the DMK’s role extended beyond governance. “Our duty is not only to protect Tamil Nadu and the Tamil language but also to defend India’s diversity,” he said, describing the party as the only major state-level force consistently opposing the BJP’s ideology.
The political exchange comes amid renewed efforts by the BJP to regain ground in the state through its alliance with the AIADMK. In April this year, Amit Shah announced that the BJP and AIADMK would contest the 2026 Assembly elections together under AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
However, recent electoral history underscores the challenge. The DMK won the 2021 Assembly elections with 159 seats and swept all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu in 2024 as part of the INDIA bloc, while the NDA failed to secure a single parliamentary seat.
Stalin’s remarks signal an early sharpening of political rhetoric as parties position themselves for the 2026 contest.
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