All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Wednesday that the party-led alliance will return to power in Tamil Nadu, winning 210 seats. The key Dravidian party is set to contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly polls in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Addressing AIADMK's general council at Chennai on Wednesday, Palaniswami said, "The AIADMK-led alliance will win 210 seats. You all should extend your cooperation for us to emerge victorious in next year's polls." Elections to the 234-seat assembly are scheduled to take place in April-May next year.
#WATCH | Chennai | AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami leaves from the Srivaari hall after the party's Council and Executive Committee meeting concludes, ahead of 2026 Tamil Nadu elections. pic.twitter.com/RCBwfEWYuU
— ANI (@ANI) December 10, 2025
Palaniswami slammed the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu and said it has lost its popularity amongst the people. The Opposition leader said the DMK, which has been critical of his party's alliance with the BJP, "couldn't say anything about the 'golden rule' of the AIADMK regime."
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Palaniswami charged the DMK had announced welfare schemes like free laptops to students to overcome its unpopularity. "Why should you give the free laptops now? Colleges had reopened five months ago. As you lost the popularity among the public and fearing that you might lose the next year's poll, you (DMK) announced that free laptops will be given to 10 lakh students," he charged.
Palaniswami said the party-led alliance lost the 2021 assembly polls due to DMK's conspiracy, and the party lost by a small margin in 43 seats. AIADMK allied with the BJP in the 2021 polls. While the party contested from 190 seats, the BJP contested from 20 seats.
