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There’s always been something awkward, almost ill-fitting, about the political arrangement between the AIADMK and the BJP in Tamil Nadu. It wasn’t a marriage of minds, or even a confident handshake across ideological divides. Instead, it was a post-Jayalalithaa compromise, driven less by conviction and more by necessity. However, that uneasy alliance is now beginning to show deep fault lines, and not just because of tactical disagreements. What we are seeing may well be a quiet unraveling, a story of diminishing identity and the slow erosion of autonomy.

The latest chapter in this uneasy relationship has unfolded through a series of sharp provocations, most notably from within the BJP’s top ranks. Take, for instance, Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent assertion that the NDA, comprising the BJP and the AIADMK, will form the next government in Tamil Nadu.

In an interview with a regional daily, Shah went a step further to clarify that the chief minister would be from the AIADMK, though he conspicuously refrained from naming Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the party’s current general secretary. That omission, subtle as it may seem, hasn’t gone unnoticed. Is he hinting that EPS is not irreplaceable, or is it a pressure tactic to negotiate more seats to contest, and more power in the government, in case the alliance wins?

Unfortunately, it only adds a layer of ambiguity and absolutely no reassurance to the AIADMK leaders or their cadres. Shah’s statement is also significant for another reason: no Dravidian party has ever shared governmental power with an ally since 1967. The very idea that a national party like the BJP might now gain a direct stake in running the Tamil Nadu government has stirred considerable unease. In addition, former BJP state president K. Annamalai’s far more aggressive declaration that the BJP would “rule Tamil Nadu” in 2026, and his unrelenting campaign against Dravidian icons like Periyar and Annadurai, suggest these are not isolated remarks. They feel deliberate, almost like pressure tests. And with every fresh provocation, the BJP........

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