Daijiworld Media Network- Chennai

Chennai, Sep 4: In a major political twist in Tamil Nadu, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) chief TTV Dhinakaran on Tuesday announced his party’s exit from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), just two years after joining hands with the saffron party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing reporters in Chennai, Dhinakaran said his party had “waited with patience” for a possible unification of late CM J Jayalalithaa’s loyalists but had now decided to chart its own independent course.

“We are walking out of the NDA. In December, we will announce our next step. We hoped Amma’s followers would unite, but when that did not happen, we decided to go our way for the 2026 elections,” Dhinakaran declared.

The development comes amid BJP’s renewed alliance with the AIADMK, which had sidelined both Dhinakaran and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS). Notably, OPS too quit the NDA earlier. Party sources indicate that AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) had insisted on the ouster of both OPS and Dhinakaran as a condition for reviving the BJP-AIADMK alliance.

Meanwhile, AIADMK veteran KA Sengottaiyan, known for his strained ties with EPS, has announced that he would “speak candidly” on September 5, reflecting growing unrest among sections of the AIADMK cadre.

Interestingly, while Dhinakaran did not spell out future alliances, he dropped a clear hint by praising actor Vijay’s newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). “Just like Vijayakanth once shook the political stage, Vijay will dent all parties,” Dhinakaran said, fuelling speculation of a possible tie-up.

The exit of both OPS and Dhinakaran—two influential leaders from the Thevar community—has raised questions over BJP’s Tamil Nadu strategy in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly polls. The development coincided with the BJP state core committee’s meeting in Delhi, underscoring the churn in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape.