Amit Shah-EPS meet in Delhi sparks BJP-AIADMK patch up speculations ahead of Tamil Nadu polls

The two leaders met in the national capital New Delhi just one year ahead of the 2026 assembly elections in the southern state of India.

As per various reports, EPS, who is the AIADMK general secretary, has placed conditions that his party should lead the alliance and BJP's state president K Annamalai should have a restricted role in the combination.

The meeting took place just days after Palaniswamy expressed his willingness to work with like-minded parties to defeat the DMK, which rules the state.

Though neither of the two parties has made an official statement, Palaniswamy, as The Hindu reported, said he discussed Tamil Nadu-related issues with Shah and not about any potential alliance.

The new equation, if it is formed, comes amid the bitter Centre-State tussle over the three-language formula under the new National Education Policy (NEP) as well as the delimitation issue.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief Stalin Wednesday accused the BJP of trying to 'impose Hindi' on the southern state in the guise of a National Education Policy and called it a plan to develop Hindi rather than India.

Stalin has fired sharp attacks on Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, whom he last month accused of 'blackmail' by threatening to withhold funds and this week said was "arrogant" and "acting like a king".

Stalin last week held a multi-state meeting in Chennai protesting against the delimitation issue.

The DMK claims the delimitation will reduce the number of seats from the state in the Lok Sabha.

Stalin said the reduced representation in the Lok Sabha will weaken the "political strength" of the state.

Addressing the concerns, Shah earlier said the south Indian states will not have any reduction in the number of seats due to the delimitation exercise.

Shah said in February as quoted by The Indian Express, "Today a meeting will be held to ensure the South does not suffer on account of delimitation. The public in Tamil Nadu is disturbed. This is why the Tamil Nadu CM (Stalin) and his son (Udhayanidhi) are trying to distract the public.

"Mr Stalin, the Modi government has made it clear in Lok Sabha that after delimitation, on pro rata basis, not a single seat will be reduced in any southern state. And I want to reassure the public of South India that Modi ji has kept your interest in mind to make sure that not even one seat is reduced pro rata. And whatever increase is there, southern states will get a fair share, there is no reason to doubt this."