Chennai, June 8 (Reporter) Putting up a brave face after the drubbing in the Lok Sabha Polls, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami ruled out any further alliance with the BJP, even for the 2026 Assembly polls. Talking to reporters at Edappadi in his home town, he said the severing of ties with the BJP stands and that there was no question of re-inducting expelled leaders O Panneerselvam and V K Sasikala. Both Mr Panneerselvam and Sasikala have appealed for unity in AIADMK to redeem the party in view of the LS poll loss to achieve success in future polls, especially in 2026. Mr Panneerselvam, who too lost the polls from Ramanathapuram contesting as an Independent backed by the BJP, renewed his clarion call for unity keeping the 2026 Assembly elections in mind. Ever since his expulsion from the AIADMK in 2022 and Mr Palaniswami, who formally became the General Secretary and got the Election Commission recognition restoring the unitary leadership in the party reverting to the days of charismatic leader J Jayalalithaa, Mr OPS had been making appeals for unity. But his appeal for outrightly rejected by Mr Palaniswami. "We will not ally with the BJP...we will not even ally with it for the 2026 Assembly polls", he categorically said. There is no question of alliance with the BJP, he asserted. The AIADMK, after being in alliance with the BJP for the 2019 LS polls and 2021 Assembly elections, had severed its ties with the saffron party ahead of this year Lok Sabh polls, which seemed to have cost the party dearly. Both the AIADMK and the BJP formed separate fronts, but drew a blank in the LS polls as the ruling DMK-led Front swept the elections winning all the 40 seats (39 in TN and the lone seat in Puducherry) for the first time, in a virtual repeat of 2019 LS polls where the DMk alliance won all but one seat which was bagged by the AIADMK (Theni seat). This was also for the first time a Dravidian party has won back to back LS polls since 1991. That too it came under the leadership of DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin, who had been tasting success after success after taking over the party leadership since the demise of his father of DMK Patriarch M Karunanidhi in August 2018. Despite the poll loss, Mr Palaniswami said the AIADMK will come back strongly in 2026 without aligning with the BJP. He also said that he single handedly campaigned for the Front in the LS polls that had only the DMDK as a key partner, though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top leaders including Mr Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda campaigned for it, but could not win even a single seat. Mr Palaniswami said despite the reverse, the poll percentage of the AIADMK has increased that showed the people's belief in the party. Mr Palaniswami was apparently referring to a senior leader stating that the AIADMK might consider those willing to return, but said Mr Palaniswami will be the at the helm of affairs of the party...////...