AIADMK moves towards getting Two Leaves symbol

The announcement of support by the OPS camp to whoever contests on the Two Leaves symbol is a major development

AIADMK on Saturday moved towards securing Two Leaves symbol for its candidate in the Erode (east) by-election with the camp led by expelled leader O Panneerselvam declaring his intention to support whoever contests on the party’s magical symbol, in a major victory for former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

BJP, which had on Friday appealed for an united AIADMK, also came around to extend its support to the candidate contesting on the Two Leaves symbol, which still holds sway over lakhs of people across Tamil Nadu. The developments came on the day the AIADMK, acting on a Supreme Court direction, began distributing forms to elicit support for K S Thennarasu, the candidate announced by the EPS camp, from General Council members.

The announcement of support by the Panneerselvam camp to whoever contests on the Two Leaves symbol, which means nothing but the candidate proposed by the EPS camp, is a major de-escalation from its earlier stand which apparently came after a prodding from the BJP.

“We will support the candidate who contests on Two Leaves,” said R Vaithilingam, former minister and a close confidante of OPS. His statement came a day after the apex court said the General Council members will decide the candidate for who will contest on the Two Leaves symbol.

Also Read | AIADMK factions initiate discussion over candidate for Erode East bypoll

At a press briefing, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai said the BJP never tried to interfere in the internal affairs of the AIADMK and maintained that the call for an united AIADMK was merely an appeal from the party to put up a very strong candidate against the DMK nominee.

“We have decided not to contest the Erode (east) by-polls. We will support the candidate who contests on the AIADMK’s Two Leaves symbol,” Annamalai said. If the SC allows the Two Leaves symbol to Thennarasu, he will be the only candidate from the Opposition camp.

The decision by the BJP and OPS camp came after Palaniswami categorically ruled out any compromise with Panneerselvam and conveyed to the BJP leaders that the party will not step back from its stated position vis-à-vis Erode (east) by-polls.

Sources in the BJP said they have been working behind the scenes to bring about a compromise between the two factions, but the efforts did not yield any results.