Union Commerce Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party's Tamil Nadu election in-charge Piyush Goyal on Tuesday asserted that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will sweep the 2026 Assembly elections in the state, and replace the "corrupt regime of DMK".
The minister's comments come shortly after he met with AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami in Chennai, signalling further progress in alliance talks.
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'Confident that NDA will have a sweeping victory'
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"We are very confident that NDA will have a sweeping victory in the 2026 elections. We discussed various plans for the coming few months today. We are going to work to reach out to meet the people of Tamil Nadu, to meet the aspirations of the youth of Tamil Nadu, to meet the demands of growth, jobs and progress that Tamil Nadu has suffered under the corrupt regime of DMK," the Union minister told reporters here.
'Delighted to meet my friend and brother EPS'
Calling EPS a "friend and brother", Goyal added, "I am delighted to meet my friend and brother Edappadi K Palaniswami, who has led the BJP, AIADMK and other NDA alliance partners. We had very good meetings, very good discussions about strengthening our political work together, about fighting the 2026 Assembly elections as a family, the NDA family, and under the leadership and guidance of PM Modi."
EPS, Goyal focused on election preparedness
The meeting between the AIADMK General Secretary and Goyal focused on election preparedness, organisational coordination, and the broader NDA alliance strategy, according to sources.
Seat-sharing arrangements between the BJP and the AIADMK are also expected to be a key part of the ongoing deliberations as both parties explore the contours of a possible pre-poll understanding.
Earlier in the day, a crucial meeting of the BJP Tamil Nadu Core Committee was held at the party's state headquarters, Kamalalayam, in T. Nagar, Chennai. The meeting was chaired by BJP Election In-charge Piyush Goyal, along with BJP Co-Incharge and Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and BJP Tamil Nadu State President Nainar Nagenthran. The core committee deliberations focused on chalking out the election strategy, reviewing organisational preparedness and planning outreach programmes across the state.