Chennai: A day after the Election Commission of India decided to freeze the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) name and its two leaves symbol, the two warring factions were allotted new names and symbols on Thursday.
While the faction led by former chief minister O. Panneerselvam was granted the name AIADMK Puratchi Thalavi Amma with the “electricity pole” symbol, the team under V.K. Sasikala would go by the name AIADMK Amma with a “hat” symbol, for the upcoming bypoll to the RK Nagar assembly constituency on 12 April.
The RK Nagar seat fell vacant following J. Jayalalithaa’s death on 5 December.
While the Panneerselvam camp had announced veteran E. Madhusudhanan as its candidate for the bypoll, Sasikala’s nephew T.T.V Dinakaran is the candidate for the other camp.
On Wednesday, the EC in its interim order had said that neither of the two groups shall be permitted to use the name of the party “All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam” and use the symbol “two leaves”, reserved for the AIADMK.
The EC, in its interim order, said on Wednesday: “Neither of the two groups led by petitioners—E. Madhusudhanan, O. Panneerselvam and S. Semmalai—and the respondents—V.K. Sasikala and Shri T.T.V. Dhinakaran—shall be permitted to use the name of the party ‘All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’.”
“Neither of the aforesaid two groups shall also be permitted to use the symbol ‘Two Leaves’, reserved for ‘All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’,” the EC had said.
The EC said that the decision is “purely for the purposes of the current by-election” in RK Nagar assembly constituency on 12 April.
The AIADMK went through a similar phase 27 years ago, when the symbol froze following a factional feud after the founder M. G. Ramachandran’s death in December 1987. The party had split into two camps—under MGR’s widow Janaki Ramachandran and late chief minister Jayalalithaa.
The fight went on for months and just ahead of the assembly election in January 1989, the EC froze the symbol. While Jayalalithaa camp got the “cock” symbol, the Janaki faction was given the symbol of “a pair of pigeons”.
