TN alliance: BJP gets 5 seats in AIADMK-led alliance
Deccan ChronicleChennai: The AIADMK on Tuesday forged a rainbow coalition by sealing seat-sharing pacts with the BJP and the PMK and looking set to complete the entire process with the rest of the allies anytime now, even as the rival DMK-Congress camp meandered through multiple sessions in Delhi. Announcing it as a “mega alliance and a victorious coalition”, Union Minister and BJP senior Piyush Goyal and AIADMK coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam told a crowded media conference at a star hotel here that they were confident of winning all the 40 seats, including the lone Lok Sabha constituency in Puducherry. “I am extremely delighted that today the AIADMK and the BJP have concluded very fruitful discussions and we have agreed to contest the Parliament elections in both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and the bypolls in 21 Assembly seats together in alliance”, said Goyal, who is in charge of BJP affairs in Tamil Nadu. With the PMK taking seven LS seats and the BJP allotted five, the AIADMK is likely to keep 23-25 seats after giving the remaining to midget allies to contest on its ‘two-leaves’ symbol — Indh The case of ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth and his DMDK remain unclear amid reports that neither the AIADMK nor the BJP are too keen on matching the hefty demands from the party that has hugely lost on its popularity and a leader whose health does not permit any campaign efforts. Nevertheless, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who is in charge of the BJP affairs in Tamil Nadu, carried a bouquet of flowers to ‘Captain’ at his Saligramam bungalow and later told reporters it was “just a courtesy call to wish him good health”.