Tamil Nadu Elections 2026: Bihar Win Fuels BJP’s Ambitions Of Hitting Double Digits | Chennai News
Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagenthran says the Bihar win has boosted the party’s momentum in the state and that it is now pushing for a double-digit tally in 2026. Nagenthran says he does not believe that T T V Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam leaving NDA is a setback, but stresses that ‘DMK must be voted out’. Excerpts:Bihar has given BJP a big win. Does that give you an upper hand in seeking more seats for the 2026 election? The successes are a result of the 10 years of development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The party is set to grow further in Tamil Nadu too. Talks regarding the number of seats will take place in the presence of national leaders and alliance partners, and they will take the final call. Right now, we cannot say anything about that. For us, the DMK should not be in power. What is the BJP’s strategy for 2026, especially in the southern districts where tight contests are expected? BJP’s campaign will focus on schemes brought by AIADMK using Union govt funds. Centre has sanctioned more than Rs 14 lakh crore for Tamil Nadu to provide better roads, airports, Vande Bharat trains and housing schemes. PM Modi speaks about Tamil pride wherever he travels. Modi will come to Tamil Nadu for the campaigns. We are going to hold four big meetings — one in each zone: North, South, East and West. We are finalising the dates. Will you try to bring back TTV and OPS?In elections, there is never a permanent alliance. It can change or it may not change. There are still four more months left for the elections. Anything can happen, in any way. Only time will answer that. TTV and OPS’s exit from NDA may appear like a setback, but people are concerned only about who should rule them. They have seen DMK govt’s rule for more than four years. There is no development at all. DMK has given fake promises. People have also seen Edappadi Palaniswami’s rule as chief minister. What is your assessment of TVK? There is certainly a crowd coming for him. When MGR started his party, many left DMK in support of him. But these people now want to become chief minister immediately after starting a party. There is nothing wrong with aspiration. Even Prashant Kishor started a party but got only 2% votes. He lost his deposit in 236 constituencies. It will be like that here too (for Vijay). Let us see. Only after the election is over can we say if the support for him on social media reflects ground reality. On the Karur incident, you blamed DMK’s administration and said Vijay’s life was in danger. But TVK continued to criticise BJP. Is there any scope for talks with TVK? I said his life was at risk from the perspective of a common citizen and not as a party leader. Suppose there had been a lathi-charge, and if he was at that spot, they could have created a situation where four people may have hit him. Regarding talks with Vijay, it depends on necessity. We cannot say anything about that now. PMK was another key ally that left NDA. But when BJP election in-charge Baijayant Panda visited Chennai, he met only party president Anbumani Ramadoss and not founder S Ramadoss. Do you think that approach will work? When Anbumani was an MP, he had a good rapport with Panda. That may be the reason he met him. Will BJP also reach out to S Ramadoss for alliance discussions? Yes, we will talk to both of them. There is also a general wish that the two of them should come together. EPS has been declared as the NDA CM candidate in TN. How does that help BJP’s aspirations for growth in the state?Right now, we have only four MLAs. Chances are bright for us to have a double-digit number of MLAs. But that alone is not our objective. The DMK should not come back to power. At times, your views and those of former state president K Annamalai differ — for example, on the TTV and OPS issue.There is no big controversy in this. It has nothing to do with the party’s growth. Some say you do not reflect BJP’s ideology as you came from AIADMK. My ideology is that I will do whatever BJP and NDA say. That is my job. Your ‘Tamilagam thalai nimira Tamizhanin payanam’ rally has been underway for four weeks across Tamil Nadu. How has the response been? We started in Madurai, then went to Tenkasi and later to Chennai. I see that the crowd is increasing. ‘We’ are neither a cinema star nor a big orator. Still, people gather to see us and wave their hands. Because they want a change of govt.You said the state govt created confusion over SIR. Can you explain how? The protest is a drama by DMK to divert attention. Last Saturday they said only 40% of the work was completed, and the next morning they said 100% had been completed in some areas. Overnight, officials said, on instructions from the DMK high command, that all the work had been completed. This is a contradiction. But despite the confusion they try to create, people are thinking clearly. Email your feedback with name and address to southpole.toi@timesofindia.com
