'I cannot defeat DMK but...': Amit Shah at Madurai rally; BJP gears up for 2026 Tamil Nadu polls

NEW DELHI: Taking aim at MK Stalin, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that the Tamil Nadu chief is correct in saying that he (Shah) cannot defeat the Stalin-led DMK.This is because the people of Tamil Nadu would hand a loss to the DMK in the assembly elections next year, Shah added.The BJP's chief strategist made the remark at a rally in Madurai in the southern state."Tamil Nadu will once elect the alliance of BJP and AIADMK. Though I live in Delhi, my ears are always on Tamil Nadu. The chief minister (Stalin) says that Amit Shah cannot defeat the DMK. He is right...(because) the people of Tamil Nadu will defeat your party," Shah remarked.

Also, Shah apologised for not knowing Tamil, which he described as "one of the greatest languages.""I apologise to my BJP workers of Tamil Nadu as I cannot talk to them in one of the greatest languages of India - Tamil," he said.The BJP's ex-national president further alleged that the DMK government had been a "total failure."BJP Tamil Nadu unit chief likens Amit Shah's visit to Operation SindoorEarlier, Shah offered prayers at the iconic Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. Nainar Nagendran, the head of the saffron party's state unit, likened the home minister's temple visit to "Operation Sindoor."

"Just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi led ‘Operation Sindoor’ to evict terrorists, Amit Shah is here after darshan at Meenakshi Amman temple to carry out a silent operation — to evict the DMK from power," Nagendran stated.Under the operation, conducted on May 7, the Indian armed forces launched successful precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This was India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack by Pakistan-backed terrorists.