Chennai: Bringing back expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) into the AIADMK's scheme of things, the Supreme Court, taking an extraordinary step in the case pertaining to the party's symbol, directed that the party General Council (GC) select the candidate for the bypoll to the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
The order was passed on Friday evening on the plea of former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), heading the dominant faction of the AIADMK, seeking a direction to the Election Commission for allotment of the iconic party symbol 'Two Leaves'. Enjoying the overwhelming majority of the GC members and 62 of the 66 party legislators, this gives EPS an advantage in securing the symbol for his candidate, KS Thennarasu. However, it is also a setback since the order allowed OPS and a few other functionaries, expelled by the GC at its July 11 last meeting, to vote in the candidate selection. Interestingly, it was in that GC, EPS was elected as the interim general secretary. Since then the party has split.
While EPS had nominated party local strongman and two-time legislator KS Thennarasu, OPS who has fielded a greenhorn, Senthil Murugan, maintained that he would withdraw the candidate if the BJP contested the election and make it into a duel with the Congress. With both entering the fray the prospect of the party symbol appeared to be frozen.
Despite the reservations on the apex court order, with some functionaries fuming at the twist, the EPS faction has swung into action to get the approval of the GC members by Monday. The presidium chairman of the party, who conducts the GC, is Tamil Magan Hussain, a loyalist of EPS. As per the Supreme Court order, he had to submit to the EC, the candidate chosen by the GC, through a circular.
While many see this as an advantage, AIADMK veteran and former minister criticised the apex court order for treating both factions on an equal footing and playing the role of an arbiter. “It is nothing but a 'Katta Panchayat'. The court should have decided on the plea before it. Instead, it had imposed its decision, which is an interference in the affairs of a political party,” he told the media. However, his colleague, former minister C Ve Shanmugam, now an MP, made it clear that they would proceed with the process of securing the assent of the GC for their candidate as nominations close on February 7.
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On the other hand, the OPS faction maintained that this was a victory for them. “The court had restored the status quo as it existed before the July 11 last GC. Those who had been expelled in that GC have been allowed to vote for selecting the candidate,” was the reaction of Manoj Pandian, a lieutenant of OPS.
Analysts are also wondering about the unusual order by the apex court. “Nowhere a party GC chooses who contests and who gets the ticket. That is not the task of the GC. Granting that there is an advantage to the EPS camp, the order is a setback as it has been forced to accommodate OPS. Instead of adjudicating the plea as per law, the court had assumed the role of an arbiter, which is nothing but dictating what a political party should do,” reasons senior journalist Babu Jayakumar adding that this would set a bad precedent.
On a day of fast-paced political developments, the BJP renewed its attempt to force the merger of both factions even as it continues to postpone its decision on which side of the fence it stands. BJP national general secretary CT Ravi, in charge of Tamil Nadu, accompanied by state president K Annamalai, called on EPS and OPS and held discussions. Later, Annamalai told the media as well as in a statement that the party was for the unity of the AIADMK so as to field a candidate who could defeat the DMK-Congress combine.
“In 1972, when ADMK was formed, Dr MGR called DMK a 'Theeya Sakthi' (Devil Force). That hasn't changed in 2023. Amma (Jayalalithaa) also used to call DMK a Theeya Sakthi till she was alive...a united NDA & united AIADMK is much needed to defeat this Theeya Sakthi in this byelection...and I conveyed something on behalf of our National President Thiru J.P. Nadda. I'll not disclose what we spoke about individually to you now. We have urged both of them to work together in the interest of Tamil Nadu and defeat the DMK alliance in this by-election,” read Annamalai's statement.
In what is perceived as arm-twisting by the BJP, AIADMK veteran C Ponnaiyan, a staunch supporter of EPS, made it clear that they were very cautious about the BJP. “How the BJP functions in north India and how BJP-friendly regimes have collapsed and the saffron party taking over the reins of power are known to everybody – the people, the media, and us. We are very cautious about the BJP,” he told the media shortly after the BJP leaders departed after an hour-long meeting. “The BJP had contested the civic polls independently. Hence, the question does not arise,” was his response to a question on whether the NDA was still alive in the state.
The by-poll was necessitated by the demise of Congress legislator Thirumahan Everaa, son of former Union Minister EVKS Elangovan. Now, Elangovan, fielded by the party, has filed his papers. The Naam Tamilar Katchi of filmmaker Seeman, DMDK of actor Vijayakant and AMMK of TTV Dhinakaran have entered the fray.
