Tamil Nadu’s Nitish Kumar or assertive chief? Edappadi Palaniswami confronts a battle of perceptions

Political narratives, if left unchallenged, can tilt the balance in elections. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami appears more cognisant of this than anyone else in the electoral field in Tamil Nadu this election season.

Ever since he reluctantly returned to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last April at the behest of the BJP’s principal poll strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mr. Palaniswami has been under attack from his rivals, chiefly from the ruling DMK and its allies.

Over the past few years, the DMK front has built a strong political narrative projecting the AIADMK leadership as being subservient to the BJP and the Narendra Modi-led Union government.

This perception was bolstered by the decision of the erstwhile AIADMK government, under both O. Panneerselvam and Mr. Palaniswami, to embrace certain Central schemes that Jayalalithaa, their predecessor, had strongly opposed during her lifetime. This included the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), which Tamil Nadu joined in January 2017, just a month after her death.

Poll framed as Tamil Nadu vs Delhi

In recent times, this narrative gained further momentum after Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah repeatedly avoided endorsing Mr. Palaniswami as the NDA’s Chief Ministerial face in the upcoming Assembly election. Instead, the two leaders have publicly advocated a BJP-inclusive NDA government in Tamil Nadu, led by the AIADMK.

It is against this backdrop that DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is attempting to frame this Assembly election as a Tamil Nadu-versus-New Delhi contest.

Some leaders, including Congress MP B. Manickam Tagore and State Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar, have warned that Mr. Palaniswami could potentially become the Nitish Kumar of Tamil Nadu. What they imply is that the BJP could, at some point, force him to step down as Chief Minister, much like Mr. Kumar, who has offered to resign as Bihar Chief Minister.

Critics also point to developments in Maharashtra, where splits in the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are widely believed to have been encouraged by the BJP.

‘Subservient behaviour’

Mr. Stalin has gone so far as to accuse Mr. Palaniswami of offering an “adimai sasanam (slavery charter)” to the Union Government.

Some of Mr. Palaniswami’s actions and developments within the NDA in Tamil Nadu have lent weight to such criticism. For instance, the AIADMK leader has travelled to New Delhi twice to meet Mr. Shah to discuss the contours of the electoral alliance. This is a reversal of the typical process, where leaders of national parties who have limited influence in the Dravidian State visit Tamil Nadu to negotiate alliances with the dominant regional players.

Additionally, some allies, such as T.T.V. Dhinakaran of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, have sought to bypass the AIADMK entirely, saying they would deal directly with the BJP on seat-sharing arrangements.

Pushing back

After these developments, however, Mr. Palaniswami appears to have mounted a calibrated counter to this perception. This week, he took many by surprise by ensuring that NDA leaders — including Piyush Goyal (BJP), R. Anbumani (PMK), and Mr. Dhinakaran — visited MGR Maaligai, the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai.

In their presence, Mr. Palaniswami took centre stage and announced the number of seats allotted to each party, underscoring his authority within the alliance. He also pushed back by noting that DMK leaders such as Kanimozhi Karunanidhi had also flown to Delhi to meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

In a subtle yet significant signal, he allotted the BJP 27 seats, one short of what the DMK conceded to the Congress under pressure. He also concluded the NDA seat-sharing exercise ahead of the DMK, which this time faced a more arduous task in persuading its allies to accept fewer seats. Going a step further, Mr. Palaniswami has already declared the constituencies to be contested by allies and released the AIADMK’s first list of 23 candidates. He has also resumed his campaign, canvassing votes for the BJP’s Tamilisai Soundararajan in Chennai’s Mylapore constituency, even before her party had formally announced its candidates.

More importantly, he conceded just one seat in the Chennai district to the BJP, notwithstanding the party’s improved performance in the region in the last Lok Sabha election. He has also allocated several constituencies currently represented by incumbent Ministers to his allies, effectively shifting the burden of high-stakes contests onto them.

Real test yet to come

Nonetheless, the decision of Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) leader G.K. Vasan to field five candidates on the BJP’s lotus symbol, along with a similar move by another outfit, has effectively increased the BJP’s tally beyond what was formally allotted to it.

For those familiar with Mr. Palaniswami’s political trajectory, such manoeuvres are not entirely surprising. He was, after all, the leader who managed to sideline Jayalalithaa’s long-time aide V.K. Sasikala, despite her instrumental role in elevating him to the Chief Minister’s post nine years ago. He has also asserted himself within the AIADMK by outmanoeuvring leaders such as Mr. Panneerselvam and veteran K.A. Sengottaiyan.

His battle is far from over. His real test will come on May 4, when the votes are counted — and should his party come within striking distance of power, it remains to be seen whether he can resist the BJP’s desire to be a partner in government.

Published – March 26, 2026 07:55 pm IST