EC summons Palaniswami, O Panneerselvam in case against 'Two Leaves' symbol allotment to AIADMK

Chennai: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and expelled party leader O Panneerselvam have been asked by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to appear before it on December 23. The personal appearance relates to a case filed by S Surya Moorthi, who identifies himself as a member of the AIADMK, seeking a direction to the ECI not to allot Two Leaves symbol to candidates named by Palaniswami.

In a communication sent to Moorthi’s counsel, B Ramkumar Adityan, the ECI referred to the Madras High Court’s verdict on December 4 asking it to decide on the plea within four weeks.

The court has also asked the ECI to hear all parties concerned before arriving at a decision on the issue after former chief minister and expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam’s counsel said his client hasn’t been consulted on the issue.

“…the Commission has directed all the parties to the writ petition to submit their written response (if any) before 19.12.2024, and to appear for personal hearing in the Commission on 23.12.2024 at 3 pm,” the order signed by Ashwani Kumar Mohal, Secretary, ECI, said.

AIADMK sources confirmed that EPS has been summoned by the ECI in the case filed by Moorthi. Though EPS controls the AIADMK with 63 of the 66 MLAs supporting him, numerous petitions have been filed before various courts challenging his authority within the party.

After a protracted legal battle, the ECI had in July 2023 recognised Palaniswami as the general secretary of the AIADMK and allotted Two Leave symbol to candidates fielded by him in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Panneerselvam, who claims he is still the coordinator of the AIADMK despite his expulsion from the party in July 2022, had contested the Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate from Ramanathapuram seat in April this year.

In July 2022, Panneerselvam and his supporters, including two MLAs, were expelled from the AIADMK for “anti-party activities” by the general council, which appointed Palaniswami as the general secretary. Since then, Palaniswami’s authority in the AIADMK has been unquestioned.

Though Two Leaves, a magical symbol which still holds sway over AIADMK cadres and public, was allotted to EPS, the party did suffer a setback in the 2024 polls especially in Southern Tamil Nadu where it was pushed to the third slot by BJP and its allies, including OPS and T T V Dhinakaran, in Madurai, Tirunelveli, Theni, Ramanathapuram, and to the fourth slot in Kanyakumari.