The AIADMK factions, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam, which announced their merger on Monday will have to report the development to the Election Commission for withdrawal of their petitions staking claim to the party symbol.
Verification process
“The two groups had earlier filed petitions for the party symbol. They also submitted affidavits of their supporters. The process for verification of the affidavits and other documents is under way. Now that they have announced their merger, the party is required to submit necessary details to the commission, effectively withdrawing the petitions,” said an official.
It is learnt that both the groups had filed more than 1.5 lakh affidavits of supporters with the Commission and the electoral body has been examining them to ascertain if there are any duplications or common supporters.
In March, the poll panel had frozen the “two leaves” party symbol for the R.K. Nagar byelection in Chennai, which was then scheduled for April 12, pending a final resolution of the dispute.
However, the Election Commission later cancelled the byelection based on evidence of large-scale bribing of voters.
Sasikala’s post
The Panneerselvam group has also challenged the appointment of V.K. Sasikala as the party’s interim general secretary and therefore, all the decisions taken by her were also in dispute. That petition is also pending before the Election Commission. Earlier this month, amid reports that the two factions were in talks for a possible merger, Rajya Sabha member V. Maitreyan filed a fresh affidavit saying the AIADMK (Amma) group had in effect admitted his legal contentions vis-à-vis Sasikala, while holding T.T.V. Dinakaran ineligible to be an office bearer.
Through the affidavit, Dr. Maitreyan reiterated that Sasikala’s appointment was illegal and that the Commission should not acknowledge her as the party’s interim general secretary.