Sidelined deputy general secretary of the AIADMK T.T.V. Dhinakaran has approached the Election Commission (EC) with a plea that it must hear him before taking a decision on the “two leaves” election symbol.
Karnataka AIADMK unit chief Pugazhendi and Namakkal district secretary Anbazhagan filed the petition before the EC.
The Amma and PTA factions of the AIADMK, led by Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswamy and by O. Paneerselvam, are planning to withdraw their earlier affidavits that led to the freezing of the “two leaves” symbol.
“Sasikala was the principal respondent in the case. We appealed to EC to ensure that her view should be considered before the poll panel takes any decision. The two factions will try to misguide EC. We filed this memorandum in anticipation of such a move,” Mr. Pugazhendhi said.
The Dhinakaran faction also submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission demanding that the “merger” of the AIADMK should not be recognised.
Meanwhile, a delegation of AIADMK leaders, including Ministers P. Thangamani, D. Jayakumar and C. Ve. Shanmugam, met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday ostensibly to seek the release of pending funds to Tamil Nadu but the political situation in the State was discussed too.
“Naturally, while we were there, the current political situation in Tamil Nadu was also discussed,” Rajya Sabha MP V. Maitreyan told The Hindu .
