Unified AIADMK approaches EC with affidavits, stakes claim over the symbol

NEW DELHI: To claim support of the majority of MLAs and office bearers in the party, the unified AIADMK on Friday submitted fresh affidavits to the Election Commission (EC). The party has said that they enjoy enough support and it should be given the ‘Two leaves’ poll symbol.

A delegation comprising MLA C V Shanmugam and others made the submissions at the EC saying affidavits from 95 per cent of party cadres supporting the merged faction have been submitted.

Sources said that affidavits of 115 MLAs, 44 MPs, 52 district secretaries, 126 town secretaries and over 1,200 village secretaries from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Maharashtra and Puducherry, have been submitted.

K P Munuswami, the senior leader of the unified AIADMK said decisions taken in the party's general council meeting on September 12 after the merger of the factions led by O Panneerselvam and E Palaniswami have also been submitted apart from the affidavits.

“We have enough numbers to secure the party symbol and affidavits supporting this have been submitted. We are sure that we will get the symbol,” he said.

A day before on Thursday, the Election Commission rejected TTV Dinakaran faction’s plea requesting additional time to file affidavits in the Two-leaves symbol case. The commission made this clear that the hearing in the case will restart as scheduled on October 6.

The poll panel has fixed a deadline of 29 September for all factions of the party laying claim to the symbol to submit affidavits from primary members to prove their strength.

Earlier, this month, the Madras High Court had directed the Commission to decide before October 31 the matter relating to the AIADMK symbol. After scrutinizing the documents, the poll panel has to decide which faction enjoyed a majority in the ruling party in Tamil Nadu.

The poll watchdog had in March issued an interim order freezing the ’Two Leaves’ symbol of the AIADMK. It had said that the rival factions cannot use the party symbol as well as its name for the R K Nagar assembly bypoll. Thereafter, the EPS and OPS factions ended their differences even as the Sasikala camp is still opposed to the merger.