Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2026: AIADMK retains lion’s share of 178 seats

• BJP gets 27 seats, PMK 18, and AMMK 11 as the alliance locks in its coalition ahead of the April 23 election.

Chennai : The AIADMK-led alliance has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, with key coalition partners receiving their respective constituency allocations.

AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami with Union Minister Piyush Goyal and representatives from the alliance’s partner parties, including PMK and AMMK, for discussions that culminated in the formal announcement of the seat distribution.

Under the agreement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been allocated 27 constituencies, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) will contest 18 seats, and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) has been allotted 11 seats. Palaniswami noted that negotiations with a few remaining alliance partners are still ongoing and that final details would be announced by evening.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Union Minister Piyush Goyal expressed confidence in the coalition’s prospects, drawing a parallel with Congress-led alliance losses in other states and predicting a similar fate for the DMK-Congress combine in Tamil Nadu. He referred to Palaniswami as the “future Chief Minister,” adding that the people of Tamil Nadu are eager to see him lead the state once more.

Tamil Nadu’s Assembly election is scheduled for April 23, with nomination filing set to begin on March 30 — leaving the alliance just one week to wrap up its remaining coalition talks.

The AIADMK and BJP had previously contested together in the 2021 state election following the death of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, but the partnership broke down ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, with both parties going their separate ways. The renewed alliance for 2026 marks a significant political realignment as both parties look to mount a serious challenge against the ruling DMK.