Amit Shah Predicts NDA Win in Tamil Nadu in 2026; DMK Retorts with Sharp Dismissal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday asserted that the BJP-led NDA would form the government in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 Assembly elections, launching a sharp attack on the ruling DMK government during a Karyakarta Sammelan held in Madurai.

Calling Madurai the “city of Parivartan,” Shah addressed BJP workers and urged them to work towards dislodging the DMK, accusing the ruling party of massive corruption and betrayal of public trust.

Shah claimed the DMK government has crossed “all limits of corruption,” referring to alleged scams including a ₹39,775 crore TASMAC liquor-sale fraud and a ₹4,600 crore sand-mining scam. He said, “With the TASMAC scam amount alone, at least two classrooms could have been built in every primary school across the state.”

He also criticised the DMK over the ₹1,000 crore TASMAC-related liquor sale scam currently under Enforcement Directorate investigation and flagged alleged irregularities in a ₹450 crore nutrition kit scheme awarded to a private contractor.

In a pointed challenge to Chief Minister M K Stalin, Shah questioned the DMK’s delivery on its 2021 poll promises, alleging that less than 60% of the manifesto had been fulfilled. Highlighting the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy where 66 people lost their lives, he blamed the state’s failure to curb illicit liquor networks.

Citing his experience with electoral trends across India, Shah confidently predicted a political shift in Tamil Nadu. “Just as NDA is set to win in Odisha, Haryana, Delhi, and Maharashtra, a similar transformation will take place in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in 2026,” he said.

He also mentioned that the BJP government at the Centre had allocated ₹6.80 lakh crore to Tamil Nadu in the last decade, dismissing Stalin’s repeated questioning of the Centre’s contribution. Shah further highlighted PM Modi’s symbolic gesture of placing the historic ‘Sengol’ in Parliament, saying it enhanced Tamil Nadu’s pride on the national stage.

However, the DMK quickly responded to Shah’s comments. Party spokesperson Dr Syed Hafeezullah dismissed the possibility of a BJP-led government in the state. “Even in the USA the BJP may have a remote possibility to capture power, but not in Tamil Nadu,” he remarked sharply.