During a one-day visit to Chennai on Tuesday, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, who was recently appointed as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, will formally start alliance talks with the AIADMK and other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners.
In advance of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the visit signifies the start of the BJP’s coalition-building and seat-sharing initiative.
Goyal would start his meetings with a series of internal consultations at the party’s state headquarters in Kamalalayam, according to BJP sources. In order to assess organizational readiness and lay out the party’s overall electoral plan, he is probably going to meet with senior leaders and members of the BJP core committee.
Campaign strategy, booth-level consolidation, and ways to guarantee improved coordination among alliance partners will probably be the main topics of discussion.
Goyal will meet with NDA constituents behind closed doors at a hotel in MRC Nagar after the internal evaluation.
According to sources, the meeting’s goal is to start a formal conversation about alliance structures; seat-sharing agreements and coalition dynamics are anticipated to be major topics of discussion. Importantly, Goyal will probably meet Edappadi K. Palaniswami, general secretary of the AIADMK, at the same location.
Since Goyal took over the BJP’s Tamil Nadu campaign, this would be the first official high-level meeting between the two leaders. Future talks between the BJP and the AIADMK, which are thought to be crucial to the NDA’s chances in the state, are anticipated to be shaped by the meeting.
Palaniswami’s Monday arrival in Chennai from Salem has accelerated rumors about the alliance negotiations.
According to BJP sources, informal and backchannel conversations have been going on for some weeks, signaling a gradual warming of ties, even though neither party has formally confirmed the meeting.
Goyal is expected to see Governor R.N. Ravi at Raj Bhavan later today. It is anticipated that the summit would cover important political and administrative developments in Tamil Nadu.
Senior BJP leaders stated that the party high command’s choice to give Goyal the Tamil Nadu mandate demonstrates its goal of assembling a unified and broad NDA well in advance of the electoral cycle. After finishing his activities in the city, Goyal is anticipated to return to New Delhi in the evening.
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