It is official now. The AIADMK which claims to be Tamil Nadu’s largest political party has split vertically. The Election Commission of India froze the name AIADMK and its official symbol Two leaves following claims and counter claims by the two factions.
The battle for the RK Nagar Assembly constituency scheduled for April 12 will be between Amma andPuratchi Thalaivi Amma (Revolutionary leader Amma) as the Election Commission of India by a late night order on Wednesday froze the name AIADMK and its election symbol Two leaves following dispute between the two factions claiming the legacy of late J Jayalalithaa.
While the faction headed by VK Sasikala, the general secretary of the AIADMK undergoing imprisonment in the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison following the upholding of her conviction in the Disproportionate Asset case, will hereafter be known as AIADMK (Amma), the opposite group led by rebel O Panneerselvam has been named AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma). The Sasikala faction’s nominee for the RK Nagar assembly constituency TTV Dinakaran has been given “Hat” as the symbol and E Madhusudhanan, the rebel candidate has been allotted “Electricity Pole”.
This implies that for all practical purposes the AIADMK has been split. While the majority of the legislature party is in the Sasikala camp (122 members), the Panneerselvam faction’s claim is that the majority of the cadre is with them. “We will win the RK Nagar seat with thumping majority because the symbol Hat represents the legacy of late MGR, founder of the AIADMK,” said Dinakaran while speaking to reporters after filing his nomination on Thursday. He said the ECO order freezing the Two leaves symbol is only a temporary setback and his faction would approach the Supreme Court challenging the order.
“It is a repetition of history, Following the death of party founder MGR in 1987, the AIADMK had split when two factions led by Janaki Ramachandran, his widow and Jayalalithaa claiming the legacy of MGR,” said veteran scribe Sam Rajappa. He said that the then Election Commission headed by Periya Sastri had frozen the Two leaves symbol as the two factions fought it out in the streets. “In the 1989 Assembly election both factions of the AIADMK without the benefit of the ‘two leaves’ were routed. Only after the merger of the two groups and restoration of the ‘two leaves’ symbol was the AIADMK able to win an election and form the Government in 1991,” recounted Rajappa. .
E Madhusudhanan and Deepa Patrick Madhavan (the niece of late Jayalalithaa who launched the MAD Party) and Gangai Amaran, the BJP nominee also filed their nomination papers on Wednesday.
In a major development, Rajnikanth, who had reportedly supported Amaran, developed cold feet by Thursday and tweeted that he was not supporting any candiadtes. “My support is for no one in the coming election,” Rajnikanth tweeted.
As the filing of nomination papers came to a close by 5 pm on Wednesday, the battle lines are drawn in RK Nagar with Maruthu Ganesh (DMK), Dinakaran (AIADMK Amma) E Madhusudhanan (AIADMK PTA), Deepa Patrick Madhavan (MAD Party) and lokanathan (CPI(M)) as the prominent contestants.