By announcing that he was going to contest the R. K. Nagar byelection, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, leader of AIADMK dissidents, has shown that he has not taken lying down the setback of not getting the symbol of “two leaves.”
Stating that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his deputy O. Panneerselvam had only won the “first round” of the battle [with him] by securing the two-leaves symbol, dissident AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, in Tirupur on Friday, contended that this was a temporary reprieve for them, adding, “We will have the last laugh.”
Accusing Mr. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam of retrieving the symbol and the name of the AIADMK by “stooping and begging the Centre”, Mr. Dhinakaran told journalists that he would challenge the Election Commission’s decision in court next Monday.
Partisan act
Mr. Dhinakaran, who addressed his supporters at Perumanallur in Tirupur, said the announcement of the bypoll schedule for the R. K. Nagar Assembly constituency a day after the allocation of the party symbol to the ruling faction, was a testament to the partisan manner in which the Election Commission was acting. “It looks like a planned move by the Election Commission and the Centre was behind it,” he alleged. The Election Commission’s decision was not a final verdict on the party symbol issue, he insisted.
Mr. Dhinakaran, who declared that he would enter the fray again in R.K. Nagar, said he was confident of his victory even though he would not be able to contest under the two-leaves symbol. He also said he was not worried about the symbol that the Election Commission would assign to him.
When asked whether he regretted supporting the BJP’s candidate in the Presidential elections, given how the symbol dispute has panned out, he said that the decision was taken on the basis of the circumstances prevailing at the time, and hence, he did not regret it now. “The R.K. Nagar electorate, who were very clear about whom to elect, would teach a fitting lesson to those who betrayed the party and were misgoverning the State,” he said.
