Chief Minister M K Stalin's possessive interest in what's cooking in BJP-AIADMK circles has gripped political circles in Tamil Nadu. The meetings between BJP and AIADMK leaders have added to the intrigue. The most recent was that between AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the nation's capital Delhi.

This "sparked speculation" of a "possible alliance" and Stalin wanted confirmation to ease his worries, both real and imaginary. The 2026 assembly elections are round the corner and the corner itself is not far beyond a couple of 2025 bends: Tamil Nadu will go to polls and the DMK is saddled with anti-incumbency!

Also, the BJP has been going around speculating it's gaining in popularity among Tamil Nadu's masses. Especially, BJP's Tamil Nadu promise K Annamalai, who is antenna for the BJP and anathema for Chief Minister MK Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udayanidhi Stalin. Every time MK Stalin relaxes on his government's achievements, Annamalai punctures the balloon.

So much so, Stalin's heir Udayanidhi Stalin has been unusually quiet these past few months. The younger Stalin was, otherwise, the biggest talker this side of the Equator which covered a lot of ground. And Chief Minister Stalin was lulled by speculation that he had the makings of a great Prime Minister in the making!

Never mind it was pipedream and speculation. Come to think of it, there has been speculation Pinarayi Vijayan would make a fine Prime Minister if not Stalin, Akhilesh Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray or Rahul Gandhi!

Amidst all this, the BJP and the AIADMK were once again in talks for a "possible tie-up". Such talk had always invariably gotten blown off in the political whirlwinds and both the BJP and the AIADMK always went their own sweet ways, hands tucked in pockets.

Somebody should clear the air. Leaving it to journalists hasn't worked, so far. Palaniswami was tapped and here's what he said: “Our ideology remains unchanged. Alliances will shift according to circumstances and opportunities. Will all allies remain with DMK forever? The next election is only next March, and we have a year to decide on these matters.”

If EPS wasn't such a big AIADMK functionary, he would have been struck off the list of "sources". But then, what would be left to speculate on and about? "Some observers" believe "many in AIADMK" are hesitant to hazard a guess because of ideological differences.

Despite this, a BJP-AIADMK alliance is crucial for the survival of both parties in Tamil Nadu politics. All the more because the DMK thrives in a sea of highly emotional issues it keeps raking up, from "Hindi imposition" to the "Dravidian is in danger".

Chief Minister MK Stalin is not an actor like his son Udayanidhi is nor a lyricist-scriptwriter like his father M Karunanidhi was, but he's a master of speculation. What is fueling speculation is the belief that the Palaniswami-Amit Shah meeting, especially its "timing", pointed to the DMK in a fix because it is at odds with the Centre over delimitation and Hindi imposition, both of which are "real" and not "mere speculation."

Chief Minister Stalin has announced he will lead 39 TN MPs and meet Prime Minister Modi for a "fair delimitation." This, amidst talk that Stalin still commands pole position among "South Politicians" in as far as the "face of the anti-BJP opposition in the south" is concerned.

Both EPS and the BJP are aware of MK Stalin's status and there has been speculation that both Palaniswami and Shah have very little time to come to an agreement and sign a pact of surrender to the political inconsistencies dogging both the BJP and the AIADMK.

The meeting between EPS and Amit Shah was signal that both parties, the BJP and the AIADMK, had to get their acts together and that there's very little time left for the 2026 elections. Has this factor sunk into K Annamalai, who had been relentlessly attacking the AIADMK right from 2023 on?

Therefore, the "top leadership" of the BJP and the AIADMK are on a one-on-one. The message has gone home that the differences have to be ironed out and order must prevail. This is why the DMK leadership has been forced to speculate about "what's cooking in BJP-AIADMK circles?"

Chief Minister MK Stalin could do with a mole in the AIADMK or one in the Bharatiya Janata Party! This, even as talk zoomed to speculation that a "high-powered steering committee" will be formed and Annamalai has been cautioned to court restraint. On the other side of the aisle, EPS has told the BJP to shut out AIADMK rebels TTV Dinakaran and O Panneerselvam.

The BJP and the AIADMK have had a long and sometimes difficult history of alliance dating back to the time when Atal Behari Vajpayee was Prime Minister and J Jayalalithaa was AIADMK Supremo. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival did not change things.

But when 'Amma' bid adieu to the world, the two parties aligned once more and even contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls together. But the DMK’s sweeping victory 2019 and in the 2021 assembly elections was the final straw. Both parties parted ways in September 2023 helped along by Prime Minister Modi's blue-eyed boy, the dark-horse K Annamalai.

The BJP saw an increase in its vote share in Tamil Nadu in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The speculation continues that an alliance with the AIADMK would have improved its vote-share and electoral performance, too. But speculation comes for free and with no strings attached. The reality is, there are "ideological differences" and the AIADMK cannot be seen as any less "Dravidian" than MK Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin. The Baniya-Brahmin Bharatiya Janata Party is completely out of the Dravidian loop. (IPA Service)