Amit Shah's Clear Message To Tamil Nadu BJP Leaders Ahead Of Polls: 'We Must Fight To Win'

Last Updated:January 05, 2026, 16:14 IST

During his recent visit to Tamil Nadu, Shah conducted an extensive review, taking detailed feedback from leaders on ground realities, voter sentiment and alliance dynamics.

Amit Shah stressed that outreach must be intensified at every level to establish a direct connect with the people of Tamil Nadu. (Image: PTI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has delivered a blunt and uncompromising message to the BJP leadership as the party prepares for the high-stakes Tamil Nadu battle. Top party sources say that during his recent visit to the southern state, Shah conducted an extensive review, taking detailed feedback from leaders on ground realities, voter sentiment and evolving alliance dynamics. He held two rounds of meetings with the BJP core group during his visit. The message, sources say, was unequivocal: this is a “do-or-die" contest and the BJP must fight to win, not merely register a presence.

Shah stressed that outreach must be intensified at every level to establish a direct connect with the people of Tamil Nadu. He also called for a sharp escalation in social media engagement to aggressively highlight the work done by the Central government for the state. At the political level, Shah directed the party to take on the DMK at every step, exposing what he described as corruption and dynastic politics, and to ensure the narrative remains focused on governance versus misrule.

According to sources, Shah also made it clear that all parties and leaders not aligned with the DMK–Congress combine must be actively approached to join the NDA. The BJP, he said, must keep its options open, given the rapidly changing political landscape in the state. Sources add that this outreach is part of a broader strategy aimed at finalising the NDA’s alliance structure by Pongal.

The visit, sources say, marked a decisive reset in the BJP’s Tamil Nadu strategy. Shah urged the state unit to abandon the mindset of merely “putting up a fight" and instead prepare for an outright victory, with the NDA targeting a clear majority rather than incremental gains. In a detailed core committee meeting, he sought individual inputs from every leader, signalling that future decisions will be driven by electoral arithmetic rather than sentiment.

Sources indicate that the BJP is seriously exploring the possibility of an alliance with TVK, even as Shah instructed the unit to begin early candidate identification and work towards building a grand alliance framework. Speed, scale and strategic clarity, sources say, are central to the BJP’s approach as it seeks to consolidate the anti-DMK space.

Equally significant, according to sources, was what did not happen during the visit. Shah did not meet AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami in Trichy, a move widely viewed as deliberate. The message, sources say, was that the NDA cannot be constrained by a single party or leader. Instead, the BJP aims to bring together all anti-DMK forces, from AMMK and PMK to leaders dissatisfied within the broader AIADMK ecosystem.

Shah’s overarching thrust, sources say, is to turn the Tamil Nadu contest into a clear alliance-versus-DMK battle rather than a personality-driven fight. This aggressive push comes even as the Congress is showing signs of warming up to TVK, reinforcing the BJP’s urgency to move swiftly and leave no political space unoccupied in Tamil Nadu’s opposition politics.

It is pretty evident that in the run-up to the elections in the state, the home minister is expected to visit Tamil Nadu more frequently. During this visit through Sunday and today, Shah had a full meeting with the recently appointed election incharge Piyush Goyal and co-incharge, Ministers Arjun Meghwal and Murlidhar Mohol. The state leadership was also present during these meetings.

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