Chennai: A day after BJP and Shiv Sena announced their alliance for the upcoming general elections, BJP on Tuesday joined hands with Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK for the Lok Sabha polls, to expand its base in a southern state where it has been only a marginal presence without the crutch of regional giants.
The AIADMK on Tuesday said that the BJP has been assigned five of the state’s 39 parliamentary seats and one seat from Puducherry.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the two parties will also team up for by-elections to 21 assembly seats.
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“The alliance will contest the Tamil Nadu elections under the leadership of the AIADMK and the national elections in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Piyush Goyal said.
Earlier in the day, the AIADMK had announced a pact with the PMK after Chief Minister E Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam met with its chief S Ramadoss. The PMK, which spent a good part of the last two years accusing the AIADMK of deep-rooted corruption, will have seven seats in the coalition.
That means the AIADMK, which swept the last national election, winning 37 seats, settles for at least 12 less.
Meanwhile, superstar Rajinikanth on Sunday clarified that he would not contest the polls and that no party should use his outfit to capitalise on votes.