Putting an end to the nine-month-old dispute, the Election Commission on Thursday granted the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol to the unified AIADMK led by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
This is the second time the AIADMK has managed to reclaim its name and frozen poll symbol — the previous one being in 1989.
The 83-page order noted that in the legislative wing, it had the support of 34 Lok Sabha and eight Rajya Sabha members, and 111 Tamil Nadu and four Puducherry MLAs. The Sasikala-Dhinakaran faction was supported by three Lok Sabha (one of them Vasanthi Murugesan switched loyalties to Mr. Palaniswami) and three Rajya Sabha members and 20 Tamil Nadu MLAs (including 18 disqualified legislators).
The announcement brought cheers to AIADMK cadre who celebrated it with bursting fireworks and distributing sweets at the party's headquarters. The decision could give some respite to cadre who are witnessing resentment and differences of opinion among the supporters of Mr. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam.
The sidelined leader TTV Dhinakaran has indicated that he will approach the Supreme Court against the EC's decision. A decision on the Speaker's disqualification of 18 dissident AIADMK MLAs is pending before the Madras High Court. Amidst these, the Election Commission has announced that R.K. Nagar bypoll will be held on December 21. Whether the Assembly constituency that elected Jayalalithaa twice and has been a traditional AIADMK stronghold will continue to throw its weight behind "two leaves" should be interesting to watch.
