Setback for Dinakaran faction, OPS-EPS faction gets 'Two-leave symbol'

Bengaluru, Feb 28: The Delhi High Court Thursday dismissed the petition of TTV Dinakaran and VK Sasikala in connection with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (AIADMK) "two leaves" election symbol case. The High Court upheld the decision of Election Commission of allotting the two-leaves symbol to the Panneerselvam-Palaniswami faction.

The High Court Bench had said it would deliver the judgement within four weeks in view of the February 7 Supreme Court order that the EC can decide Dhinakaran's plea for an interim poll symbol, if the high court's decision does not come within four weeks.

The Supreme Court on February 7 had also vacated its order of abeyance on the high court's interim decision of March 9, 2018 directing the EC to allot a common symbol, preferably that of a 'pressure cooker', and a name to the then AIADMK (Amma) faction led by Diinakaran.

Dinakaran had floated Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) after he and Sasikala were expelled from the Palaniswami-led AIADMK.

The EC in March 2017 had given the 'hat' symbol to the Sasikala-Dhinakaran group after it froze the use of the 'two-leaves' symbol to which the group led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam had also staked claim. The Palaniswami-Panneerselvam faction had at the same time been granted the 'electric pole' symbol. However, on November 23, 2017, the poll panel had ruled in favour of the Palaniswami-Panneerselvam faction by allotting the 'two-leaves' symbol to them.

The symbol issue had been lingering since April 2017 in the aftermath of the announcement of the by-poll to Radha Krishnan Nagar constituency in Tamil Nadu following the death of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa in December 2016.

(With PTI inputs)