TN ministers vote for post-poll alliance with BJP

In the second Cabinet meet of the year held for over three-and-a-half hours, though the first two hours were spent discussing administrative issues, current State politics was taken up subsequently. During the discussion, when ministers were asked about their keenness on having a poll alliance with the BJP, they were not for it, but indicated that the AIADMK should opt for a post-poll tie-up, said the sources.

A source said that Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami was also not in favour of an alliance with the BJP and so had planned an alternative schedule when Union Minister Piyush Goyal was about to visit the State, though Goyal had ultimately cancelledthe meeting.

However, when Narendra Modi visits on January 27 for laying the foundation stone for AIIMS in Madurai, both the PM and Palaniswami will share a common stage and the BJP is apparently forcing the AIADMK to confirm the alliance before the event, the sources claimed.