BJP will Contest five Seats of Lok Sabha in Tamil Nadu as Part of an Alliance with AIADMK

The Bharatiya Janata and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party announced an alliance in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP will contest five of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu.

“We will participate in the elections under the direction of Chief Minister E Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam,” said Union Minister Piyush Goyal. “Together we will sweep all [39] seats of Lok Sabha in Tamil Nadu.”

“We will support AIADMK in the free elections in 21 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu,” the BJP leader added”

Piyush Goyal, BJP: We will support AIADMK in the by-elections on 21 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu. We have agreed to contest elections in the leadership of OPS & EPS in state & in leadership of Modi Ji in center pic.twitter.com/2nUZAPHiaM

— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2019

AIADMK and Pattali Makkal Katchi had entered into an alliance earlier that day. The PMK will get seven seats from the 39 parliamentary seats in the state.

Goyal visited Chennai and met with AIADMK leaders on February 14. On the same day, BJP national president Amit Shah said the party would forge a “strong alliance” in Tamil Nadu for the Lok Sabha elections.

During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, AIADMK won 37 seats, becoming the third largest party in the Chamber. The Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally PMK won one seat each.