Chennai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and AIADMK have successfully concluded their alliance talks this evening. The BJP would be given 5 seats among the 33 available in Tamilnadu and Puducherry constituencies after the PMK was allotted seven seats.
Announcing the deal, AIADMK coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam repeated what he said in the morning while concluding the alliance with the PMK: that it will be a “mega alliance” and an “alliance for victory”. He said the BJP will contest from five seats in the 2019 elections as an ally of the AIADMK.
But no details were divulged about the constituencies that would be allotted to the national party.
Speaking at the media meet at the private hotel where the alliance talks were held, BJP Tamilnadu in-charge Piyush Goyal said in Tamil “Narpathum Namathe”, meaning that all the 40 constituencies, 39 in Tamilnadu and 1 in Puducherry, would be won by the AIADMK alliance.
“We will sweep to power,” said Piyush Goyal at the packed press meet outside the hotel. He said the victory would be a tribute to AIADMK supremo late Jayalalithaa whom he remembered meeting in 2016 for power reforms in the State.
When reporters asked for more details about the seat-sharing agreement, Piyush Goyal ducked the question saying, “All in good time.”
Earlier in the day, the AIADMK reached a poll pact with the PMK and gave it seven constituencies to contest from. But both parties held back on announcing the constituencies that had been allotted to the party led by Dr S Ramadoss.
All parties are scrambling to stitch together their alliance today as it is considered an auspicious Full Moon Day. In fact, the announcement regarding the BJP, AIADMK alliance was said to be delayed deliberately in the evening as it was the inauspicious time (Rahu Kalam).