H Raja, Tamilisai raise alliance with AIADMK that Annamalai broke; BJP high command issues gag order

CHENNAI: Days after senior BJP leaders H Raja and Tamilisai Soundararajan talked of 'reviving' tie-up with AIADMK for the 2026 Assembly polls, BJP state co-in-charge Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy warned party leaders in general not to comment on alliance.

In a stern warning without naming people, Sudhakar Reddy said that nobody is entitled to comment on the alliance for the 2026 Assembly elections.

"At any point in time, nobody is authorised to comment on the alliance. Our high command will take a call with due consideration with the local leadership at election time. Leaders or functionaries of TN BJP should not fall for any agenda and desist from making comments regarding the alliance," Reddy said in a video message to party workers.

The diktat from the top is passed on through Sudhakar Reddy a party source said. “It is to stop the functionaries and karyakartas from making unnecessary comments on the alliance partners until the organisational elections are over and the new State president is appointed,” the leader added.

During her interaction with the press in the city on November 12, former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan proposed a reunion with the AIADMK, saying that a strong alliance cutting across ideological differences must be forged to defeat the DMK in 2026. Tamilisai said it with a rider that the alliance will be sealed by the BJP high command during election time.

BJP state coordinator H Raja, on November 14, said the BJP is not standing in a queue and sending applications to AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, demanding an alliance.

"He (EPS) says that there is no alliance with the BJP. It is wrong to say that he is neglecting us. We didn't queue up and applied to him for an alliance. I will not comment on the alliance. I am here to implement the decision of the party high command," Raja told reporters in Madurai.

Elaborating on the background of the 'warning' message, a top BJP leader told DT Next that it has been issued by our high command, through Sudhakar Reddy.

"National leaders have urged the regional satraps to be cautious while commenting about the alliance for the 2026 Assembly elections. They have been asked to be cautious while making comments on social media, especially on matters related to the alliance with AIADMK, with which the saffron party had ruffled the feathers. The warning comes in the background to ensure that the NDA alliance is intact and new parties are roped ahead of Assembly polls," a senior BJP leader said.