Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 16 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday held a key consultation meeting in Chennai as part of its preparations for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The discussions focused on election strategies, strengthening the party's grassroots presence, and organisational matters in the state.
The meeting was chaired by BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh, Arvind Menon, National Secretary BJP, along with BJP National Co-Incharge for Tamil Nadu Sudhakar Reddy, TN BJP President Nainar Nagendran, former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, BJP National Mahila Morcha President Vanathi Srinivasan MLA, Kushoo Sundar, and BJP State Vice Presidents Narayanan Thirupathy and Vinoj P. Selvam also participated in the meeting.
Several senior leaders of the party also participated in the meeting, which focused on election strategies, strengthening the party's grassroots presence, and organisational matters in Tamil Nadu.
On Saturday, BJP State President Nainar Nagendran expressed confidence in defeating the DMK-led alliance in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections by disrupting their coalition. He cited DMK's 2001 loss despite a mega alliance and expressed optimism about resolving AIADMK internal issues through talks with O Panneerselvam.
"Whether new rivals or old rivals, the DMK's stronghold cannot be broken. But to clarify, we are not targeting their stronghold; our focus is on shaking up their alliance. In 1996, Karunanidhi became Chief Minister. Later in 2001, he formed a mega alliance. But even with that, the DMK did not come to power in the 2001 elections. Surely, there will be a regime change this time. Our alliance will win, there is no doubt about it," he said.
"Just the other day, I spoke over the phone with O. Panneerselvam. The issues between AIADMK alliance leader Edappadi Palaniswami and him will be resolved through discussions. With eight months still to go for the elections, a good resolution will come by then," he said.
Earlier, former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai expressed confidence ahead of next year's Assembly polls, stating that the NDA is gaining strength in the southern state and a favourable outcome will be reflected in the polls.
"Amit Shah is firm. Change will come in 2026 in Tamil Nadu. There is also hope that O Panneerselvam will reconsider his decision. He contested only because of his trust in the Prime Minister of India. The NDA is gaining strength in Tamil Nadu. Even if there are small issues, they will be resolved. From a long-term perspective, the DMK government must be removed," former TN BJP chief Annamalai told reporters.