CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: The political bonhomie between the AIADMK and the BJP, nearly two years after they parted ways, adds a riveting twist to the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. After wordy duels and bluster by the leadership of both the parties, a truce has been called with an eye on political expediency after severe electoral drubbings, but can the old bloc script new success to stop the DMK juggernaut? TNIE's ground report shows that the saffron party may be celebrating the deal as its first victory, but for AIADMK, it's a story in the making. The poll pact has spawned several questions. For the DMK alliance, which won both the 2021 Assembly election and the 2024 Lok Sabha poll, will it be a tougher fight in 2026? Will there be any change in the contours of the alliances? Is the alliance with BJP still seen as an "albatross around AIADMK's neck"? Will a majority of minority voters bid goodbye to MGR's party forever? When TNIE reached out to AIADMK leaders, workers and supporters for their take on the alliance and its implications for the party, the responses were mixed. While a few leaders were unhappy with the revival of the alliance and the way it unfolded, one of them said the situation reminded him of the Tamil proverb: Vennai thirandu varumpodhu thaazhiyai udaitha kathaiyaaga irukkirathu (ruining everything when success was just within reach). Some said the alliance may have killed the minority's trust in the AIADMK forever. Two senior AIADMK leaders --- one from north TN and another from the south ---- said the pact with the saffron party has spooked the cadres as the rising anti-incumbency against the DMK government would have brought rich electoral rewards to the AIADMK if the party had contested alone. The functionaries were also loath to the coalition government idea proposed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the press conference. "AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, deputy general secretary KP Munusamy, and former minister SP Velumani were just mute spectators at Shah's press conference. AIADMK, which will lead the NDA in Tamil Nadu, should have been given the opportunity to declare the finalisation of the poll pact. What happened on Friday was unusual," they said. "Have you ever seen the cadres of a political party bursting crackers and distributing sweets when it severs ties with another party? The AIADMK cadres did that when the party snapped ties with the BJP in 2023," reminisced a party functionary.