Modi to visit TN today, 6 allies likely to join NDA

PRime government minister Narendra Modi testament give up away the Bharatiya Janata company’s (BJP’s) election campaign in Kerala and Tamil Nadu on Friday, addressing public meetings in the two southern states ahead of assembly polls scheduled to take place later this year.PM Modi will first visit Thiruvananthapuram where he will launch various projects and flag off three new Amrit Bharat express trains. Following the official programme, he will address party rallies in the Kerala capital and Chengalpattu district in Tamil Nadu.At least six constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu, including the AIADMK, will share the stage with PM Modi during his public meeting near Chennai, BJP leaders said.The development comes a day after Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, who is also the BJP’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, held a string of meetings with alliance partners, such as AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.“We are very excited and happy that Prime Minister Modi will be visiting Tamil Nadu tomorrow. A large public meeting has been organised, and people from all over the state are coming enthusiastically to meet the Prime Minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami and other leaders of a united and strong NDA,” Goyal told reporters.This comes a day after AIADMK’s breakaway faction, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) led by TTV Dhinakaran re-joined the NDA on Wednesday. Dhinakaran had quit the alliance in September 2025 opposing EPS as the CM candidate. After discussions with EPS, Goyal met four leaders of small regional parties — John Pandian, who heads the Tamilaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, AC Shanmugham, founder and president of New Justice Party, Jagan Moorthy, president of the Puratchi Bharatham Katchi and Vaasan. On Wednesday night Goyal met RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy who advises the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Anbumani Ramadoss who confirmed their alliance with NDA in the first week of January.Goyal held joint press conferences with EPS, Anbumani and Vasan where he attacked the DMK government and promised governance, development and welfare under the leadership of Modi in the Centre and EPS in the state as part of BJP’s larger campaign of double engine growth.“We will bring development, infrastructure, good governance, and work for the women, children, youth, fishermen, farmers, and every section of society, so Tamil Nadu once again becomes glorious,” Goyal said. “I am grateful for all the love & affection the people of Tamil Nadu have showered upon PM Modi ji. I am sure that in these elections, the NDA will win with a thumping majority.”Goyal also called for deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s ouster after the Madras high court in an order on January 20 said that Udhayanidhi in a September 2023 speech , calling for the “eradication” of Sanathana Dharma, qualified as “hate speech,” and that his party, the DMK has, for “nearly a century,” mounted a sustained “attack on Hinduism”.This is also the first time that the NDA leaders will share a stage after the AIADMK and BJP revived their ties. AIADMK and BJP have been trying to bring in Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and expelled AIADMK leader O Pannerselvam (OPS) into their fold besides the AMMK.The NDA will be up against the DMK’s Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) who are part of the INDIA bloc with Congress as their key ally along with Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) that has a prominent Dalit vote bank, CPI and CPI (M) and regional parties. Others in the fray are TVK with Vijay making his political debut and Tamil nationalist S Seeman’s Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK).