Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-AIADMK alliance ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026, declaring that the DMK would not be intimidated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a DMK Youth Wing event in Coimbatore, Udhayanidhi Stalin framed the upcoming polls as a political battle between Tamil Nadu and the Union government in Delhi.

In a strongly worded speech, Udhayanidhi Stalin said that whenever the Prime Minister addresses the nation, people are anxious about potential announcements.

"Whenever Modi appears on television, people get frightened about what he is going to announce. Demonetisation and the Corona (lockdown) announcements by Modi made people fearful. But if Stalin appears on TV, people are happy about the new announcement schemes," he said.

He added that the DMK government would continue to safeguard the rights of Tamil Nadu. “We'll never leave our rights for the welfare of Tamil Nadu. We'll not fear PM Modi, not even if the father of PM Modi comes,” he added.

Criticism of AIADMK over Union Budget 2026

The Deputy Chief Minister also targeted Edappadi K Palaniswami, accusing the AIADMK leader of praising the Union Budget 2026–27 despite what he described as a lack of allocations for Tamil Nadu.

“In the recent Union budget, no welfare schemes were announced for Tamil Nadu. Immediately, EPS praised the Budget. He has become a serious rogue of the BJP,” Udhayanidhi Stalin alleged.

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He reiterated that the Centre had not released funds for the proposed Coimbatore Metro and Madurai Metro projects, accusing the Union government of neglecting Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure needs.

“When we asked to allot funds for the metro for Coimbatore and Madurai, the funds were not released. The fight is between Tamil Nadu and Delhi,” he said.

Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026

The 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is scheduled to go to the polls in the first half of 2026. The ruling DMK, led by Chief Minister M K Stalin, is expected to campaign on its “Dravidian Model 2.0” governance plank.

The BJP-AIADMK alliance, meanwhile, is positioning itself as the principal challenger. Actor-turned-politician Vijay, who recently launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), is also expected to influence the electoral dynamics, potentially turning the contest into a three-cornered battle.

2021 election results

In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the DMK won 133 seats, while its allies, including Congress, PMK and VCK, helped the Secular Progressive Alliance secure a total of 159 seats.

The NDA secured 75 seats, with the AIADMK emerging as the largest party within the alliance, winning 66 constituencies.

With political parties intensifying their campaigns, the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2026 are shaping up to be a high-stakes contest between the DMK-led alliance, the BJP-AIADMK combine, and the emerging TVK.

ANI