Chennai: In a striking political statement ahead of the Assembly elections 2026, AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami has said that parties in the AIADMK alliance need not continue with the front after the elections if they do not wish to do so.

He said parties currently in the AIADMK alliance may continue in the coalition after the elections if they so desire. If they are unwilling to continue, they may function according to their respective ideologies. He also criticised the DMK, stating that for the past 10 years, parties in the DMK alliance have functioned like “slaves”.

With the Assembly elections 2026 fast approaching, Palaniswami has relaunched his campaign under the slogan “Makkalai Kaappom… Tamilagathai Meetpom.” Addressing the public at Vanagaram in Chennai, he said the DMK is a party that always faces elections by depending on alliances.

However, he said, the AIADMK faces elections by trusting both its alliance partners and the people. He alleged that under DMK rule, the prices of construction materials have skyrocketed. He charged that the DMK is the only party capable of carrying out corruption in a “scientific manner” and accused it of turning the police department into its “puppet”. In this election, he said, the DMK would secure zero seats.

He asserted that the AIADMK alliance would capture power. The AIADMK delivered a people-centric government, whereas the DMK governs for those within its own household, he said.

Referring to Chief Minister M. K. Stalin claiming that the Rs 5,000 assistance announced by the government had become a “super hit”, Palaniswami said the amount was distributed under heads such as three months of women’s entitlement assistance and summer relief.

“Stalin is afraid. The Rs 5,000 was given out of fear. The Rs 5,000 is not a super hit. Our announcement of Rs 10,000 is the real super hit,” he said. Referring to the ‘Ungal Kanavu Enna’ scheme, he said that when people were asked about their dream, their response was that DMK rule must come to an end.

He said questions have arisen over whether the DMK–Congress alliance will continue in this Assembly election and claimed that differences had surfaced within that alliance. In this election, the AIADMK would win more seats and form the government, he asserted, adding that Stalin would witness it. With the forthcoming election, the DMK government would be sent home, he said.

Reacting to Stalin’s criticism that the AIADMK’s promise of Rs 10,000 per family after forming the government amounted to “frying vadai in the mouth”, Palaniswami said it was Stalin who had been “frying vadai” for five years, leading to public fatigue against the DMK. He added that Stalin could be awarded a Nobel Prize only for naming schemes.

“No one is a slave to the AIADMK. But the Congress is a slave to the DMK. Because P. Shanmugam remains subservient, the Communist Party has not grown,” he said. He reiterated that the AIADMK had allied with the BJP solely to send the DMK government home and that it was purely an electoral alliance. After the elections, if parties do not wish to continue in the alliance, they may act according to their respective ideologies, he said.