Chennai:Â The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP is poised for a significant boost in voter share and an increase in Lok Sabha seats, if the Exit Poll projections hold true.
As vote counting for the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu begins at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the BJP is optimistic. Most Exit Polls, both national and regional, predict the NDA will win several seats in the state and increase its vote share to double digits.
Remarkably, this is only the second time the BJP is competing for Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu without alliances with the major Dravidian parties, the DMK and the AIADMK.
While some Exit Polls forecast the BJP winning up to 8 seats, the party is hopeful of securing at least six seats with its allies.
“We are expecting a minimum of 6 seats, which could go up to 10,” said Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad. He added that alliance partners, including the PMK and AMMK, are also expected to perform well. Former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam is in a tight race in Ramanathapuram as an Independent candidate.
If these projections hold true, it would mark a significant breakthrough for the BJP in Tamil Nadu politics.
The BJP’s solo run in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls followed a fallout with its then-alliance partner AIADMK in September 2023. The PMK, representing the influential Vanniyar community, allied with the BJP, potentially swaying votes in northern and parts of western Tamil Nadu.
Winning 6-8 seats would disrupt the longstanding dominance of the DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu politics and position the BJP as a major contender, potentially replacing the AIADMK as the principal opposition party ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Political analyst and psephologist Jacob Thomas noted, “Since Annamalai became the state BJP chief, the party has aggressively challenged both the DMK and AIADMK. The AIADMK-BJP split initially raised eyebrows, but a strong performance in the Lok Sabha polls would vindicate Annamalai’s strategy.”
C. Rajeev, Director at the Centre for Policy and Development Studies in Chennai, remarked, “Tamil politics needs a leader to carry the party forward, and the BJP has found that in Annamalai. While M.K. Stalin has somewhat filled the void left by Karunanidhi for the DMK, the AIADMK has struggled to find a leader of similar stature since Jayalalithaa’s demise. Annamalai has emerged as a significant player in Tamil politics, something no previous BJP leader has achieved.”
Historically, BJP leaders C.P. Radhakrishnan and Pon Radhakrishnan have won Lok Sabha seats in Coimbatore and Kanyakumari, but always in alliance with either the DMK or AIADMK. This time, the BJP’s potential success as a standalone party would be unprecedented.
