AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) received Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Trichy airport on Saturday night – their first direct interaction since the AIADMK and BJP renewed their alliance ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. It is not clear if the two leaders held a one-on-one discussion during the visit.
However, EPS gave a memorandum to PM Modi.
The meeting came against the backdrop of a simmering war of words between the allies over the nature of a possible National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Tamil Nadu, should the coalition win in 2026. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly stressed the idea of a “coalition government,” but has stopped short of naming EPS as the chief ministerial candidate – a point of contention within the AIADMK.