Piyush Goyal: is in Chennai today to start negotiations with NDA partners for the 2026 TN elections
Piyush Goyal: During his one-day visit to Chennai on Tuesday, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, who was recently named the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, is scheduled to formally begin alliance negotiations with the AIADMK and other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners.
The visit is the first step in the BJP’s coalition-building and seat-sharing campaign ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in 2026.
Goyal would start his meetings with a series of internal discussions at the party’s state headquarters in Kamalalayam, according to BJP sources. In order to assess organizational readiness and lay out the party’s overall election plan, he is anticipated to meet with top executives and BJP core committee members.
Booth-level consolidation, campaign preparation, and procedures to guarantee improved cooperation among alliance partners are probably going to be the main topics of discussion.
Goyal will meet behind closed doors with NDA members at a hotel in MRC Nagar after the internal evaluation.
According to sources, the meeting’s main goal is to start a formal conversation on alliance structures. Seat-sharing agreements and coalition dynamics are anticipated to be major topics of discussion. Importantly, Goyal will probably meet Edappadi K. Palaniswami, general secretary of the AIADMK, at the same location.
Since Goyal took over the BJP’s Tamil Nadu campaign, this would be the first official high-level meeting between the two leaders. Future talks between the BJP and the AIADMK, which are seen to be crucial to the NDA’s chances in the state, are anticipated to be shaped by the meeting.
Palaniswami’s Monday arrival in Chennai from Salem has accelerated rumors about the alliance negotiations.
According to BJP sources, informal and backchannel conversations have been going on for some weeks, signaling a gradual warming of relations, even though neither party has formally acknowledged the meeting.
Goyal is expected to see Governor R.N. Ravi at Raj Bhavan later today. It is anticipated that the summit would cover important political and administrative developments in Tamil Nadu.
According to senior BJP officials, the party high command’s choice to give Goyal the Tamil Nadu mandate demonstrates its goal of assembling a broad and unified NDA well in advance of the election cycle. After finishing his commitments in the city, Goyal is anticipated to arrive back in New Delhi in the evening.