The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) faction led by expelled leader O Panneerselvam on Monday opted out of the upcoming Erode East assembly bypoll, saying the decision was taken for the party’s two-leaves symbol to win.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday night said that AIADMK’s presidium chairman Tamizh Magan Hussain will sign forms A and B for the party’s candidate for the bypoll, effectively meaning the two-leaves symbol will be allotted to the camp led by Edapaddi Palaniswami (EPS). In a letter to K Sivakumar, the returning officer for the Erode East bypoll, ECI under secretary Manish Kumar addressed the subject as ”Political Disturbances in All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam”.
Hussain has been authorised for “all official communication” for the “limited purpose” of the by-election to the assembly seat, the ECI’s letter read.
The decision to withdraw the candidature of Senthil Murugan was not in support of Edapaddi Palaniswami camp’s candidate K S Thenarrasu, said Panneerselvam supporter KP Krishnan in Chennai.
“We will campaign for the two-leaves symbol. We are not bothered about Thennarasu,” Krishnan told reporters. “It doesn’t matter who contests on behalf of the party. We want the party to contest under the two-leaves symbol and win.”
The decision comes a day before the last date for filing of nominations for the February 27 by-election. Former CM Panneerselvam’s decision came in the wake of an appeal by the Bharatiya Janata Party, an ally of AIADMK, to put up a common candidate to defeat the DMK-backed Congress candidate, EVKS Elangovan, in the by-election.
Earlier in the day, EPS camp intensified its activity ahead of the assembly bypoll, with former law minister CV Shanmugam and AIADMK presidium chief Hussain rushing to Delhi to submit to the Election Commission of India (ECI) that the party’s general council has decided Thenarasu as its candidate and to retain the party symbol.
It came days after the Supreme Court on Friday directed the AIADMK to convene a general council meeting and select one candidate since both EPS and OPS factions had fielded a candidate each.
Shanmugam said 2,501 out of 2,646 members in the AIADMK’s general council supported the candidature of former legislator Thennarasu. “As per the Supreme Court’s direction, we had sent an intimation to all the 2,646 members in person — by Whatsapp, e-mail and speed post and register post — to vote in favour or against Thennarasu,” Shanmugam told reporters in Delhi on Monday. “A majority of 2,501 voted in favour of Thenarasu to contest under the two-leaves symbol. There has been no vote against Thennarasu, while 145 members have not registered their vote.”
The case in the Supreme Court was based on an urgent petition moved by the EPS camp seeking directions for the ECI to update the records that Palaniswami has been elected as the interim general secretary on July 11, 2022. This was necessitated as the ECI continued to recognise OPS as AIADMK coordinator and EPS as joint-coordinator, even six months after changes in the party. A petition by the OPS camp challenging the abolition of the dual leadership posts is also pending in the top court.