He also emphasised that MIC had never joined the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition led by Muhyiddin Yassin.

“We never left BN. We are definitely still with the coalition.

“Just because we have had our differences with the BN leadership occasionally, it does not mean we are not with BN. We are always part of the coalition,” he told reporters after announcing the winners of the MIC election for the 2021-2024 term.

Saravanan, who is also human resources minister, said an MIC candidate winning a seat under the BN banner at the recent Melaka polls further proves its commitment to the coalition, which won the state elections last Saturday.

“We faced the Melaka state elections under the BN umbrella and MIC won 100% of the seats it contested,” he said referring to Gadek, the one seat it was allocated.

Meanwhile, when asked if any of MIC’s senior leaders will contest parliamentary seats in the coming general election, he said the matter will be decided by party president SA Vigneswaran.

“That is up to the MIC leadership. The absolute decision belongs to the president, there is no need for any discussion,” he said.

Saravanan also announced earlier today that Senator T Mohan, T Murugiah and M Asojan have been elected as MIC’s three vice-presidents following the party polls held yesterday.

Both Vigneswaran and Saravanan were not challenged, and so will remain the MIC president and deputy president for the 2021-2024 term.