Chennai: The BJP and the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday sealed an alliance for the coming Lok Sabha elections under which the saffron party would contest five out of the 39 seats.
The announcement was made by AIADMK coordinator and deputy chief minister O. Panneerselvam and Union minister and senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal, party election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, who described the pact as a “mega alliance”.
The deal was struck after the second and final round of discussions held here by the two parties that also involved chief minister K. Palaniswami.
Earlier in the day, the AIADMK clinched a deal with the PMK, offering the Vanniyar-based party seven out of 40 seats, including one in the neighbouring Union Territory of Puducherry. It was not clear yet how many seats the AIADMK would contest. In 2014, the AIADMK had won 37 seats and both PMK and BJP had won one seat each in Tamil Nadu.
After firming up an alliance with the ruling AIADMK, Mr Goyal met DMDK founder-president Vijayakanth at his residence here.
Mr Goyal said the visit was to inquire about the actor-turned-politician’s health. DMK chief M.K. Stalin flayed the AIADMK-PMK alliance, saying it was formed not for the benefit of the country, but for monetary gain. “The AIADMK-PMK alliance has been formed without a thought for the country or the people...They have forged an alliance only for money,” he alleged.
Recalling that PMK founder S. Ramadoss had slammed AIADMK leaders in public, he told reporters that the former had even penned a book on alleged irregularities of chief minister Mr Palaniswami and late AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa.
