AIADMK and BJP announce poll alliance in Tamil Nadu, saffron party to contest 5 seats

Earlier in the day, the AIADMK closed another poll deal with PMK, offering the Vanniyar-based party seven of 40 seats.

File photo of AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami (second from left) and other senior Tamil Nadu leaders showing a signed copy of the alliance agreement for the 2019 polls | R Senthil Kumar/PTI

Chennai: The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and the BJP Tuesday sealed an alliance for the coming Lok Sabha elections under which the saffron party would contest five seats in the state.

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 it as a “mega alliance”.

This came 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. –PTI