The Madras High Court’s order stalling the floor test “till further orders” thwarted the E Palaniswami-O Panneerselvam camp’s plan to go ahead with it after the disqualification of 18 AIADMK Assembly members loyal to T T V Dinakaran (pictured). This was largely welcomed by the people of Tamil Nadu. That the Speaker overstepped his authority in disqualifying the “dissident” Assembly members is not being contested seriously.
The legal validity of their disqualification for expressing lack of confidence in the incumbent chief minister or otherwise would be known in due course. It is a foregone conclusion, if the Supreme Court’s ruling in a similar case of disqualification from Karnataka is any indication.
The court’s direction to the Election Commission to not initiate any action to hold by-elections in the 18 Assembly constituencies was in a way tantamount to staying the disqualification. The only consolation to the EPS-OPS camp was that the court did not reverse the Speaker’s action on the first day of the hearing itself.
It is unlikely that Assembly members from the Opposition will cross over to the ruling side, which is unpopular with the electorate. At the same time, despite the lure of power, Assembly members from the EPS-OPS camp may feel the “pulse of the people” and move over to Dinakaran’s side.
The huge crowds that Dinakaran draws are perhaps testimony to his popularity. The perception that he is the true inheritor of J Jayalalithaa’s legacy, who is being victimised for standing up to the Bharatiya Janata Party and for his Dravidian ideals, will help him contest the polls. While it would be a cakewalk for rival DMK, Dinakaran will do better than the EPS-OPS camp aligned with the BJP and render it irrelevant like the Janaki faction.
G David Milton Maruthancode
Sukumar Mukhopadhyay New Delhi
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