Kedah BN chief Jamil Khir Baharom said with the newfound friendship at the federal level, the coalition will now back PH to win the seat.

His announcement puts an end to speculation about BN candidate C Sivaraj’s exit from the race. He has yet to officially comment on the BN decision.

PH candidate Sofee, speaking at the same ceramah, said BN’s help would allow a straight fight between PH and PN.

Jamil told reporters later that BN had waited for the “right time” to announce its withdrawal from the Padang Serai race, after taking into account all factors. He did not elaborate.

Kedah PH chief Mahfuz Omar said BN and PH campaign staff will meet tomorrow to coordinate and strategise their campaign in the next five days.

Sivaraj is the second candidate, after Bakri Hashim of Warisan, to yield to PH.

Speculation about his exit was further fuelled by a joint ceramah held by BN and PH tonight, the second such event after a similar event in the state assembly election for Tioman, Pahang, where BN and PH leaders shared the stage.

The Padang Serai election was deferred to Dec 7 when PH candidate M Karupaiya died a few days before the Nov 19 general election.

Besides Sivaraj, Sofee and Bakri, the other candidates are Azman Nasrudin (Perikatan Nasional), Hamzah Abdul Rahman (Pejuang), and Sreanandha Rao (independent).