PUTRAJAYA: Barisan Nasional component parties will not be sidelined and will play a part in the upcoming state elections, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Barisan chairman said that the MCA and MIC would be given seats to contest in the six state elections after negotiations were completed with Pakatan Harapan.
"We will ensure that every Barisan party is given a suitable seat to contest that provides them with the highest chance of winning.
"With this, I hope to dispel any rumours of possible marginalisation of Barisan component parties," he told reporters after the official launch of the TVET Madani Portal here on Tuesday (June 27).
He said this after the relevance of MCA and MIC was questioned by various politicians and political analysts following their poor show in GE15.
MCA won two of the 44 seats contested, while MIC won one out of the 10 seats contested.
Ahmad Zahid added that seat negotiations between Barisan and Pakatan were almost complete.
"Seat allocations will likely be finalised by the next meeting which will depend on the availability of the Pakatan leadership's schedules," he added.