EPS, OPS get ready for a showdown in Erode (east) bypoll

With both factions staking their claim for Two Leaves in the bypoll, the symbol faces the threat of being frozen for the third time

The February 27 bypoll to Erode (east) Assembly constituency got interesting on Saturday with the faction led by expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam deciding to contest the election and declaring its intention to claim the Two Leaves symbol.

With both OPS faction and the AIADMK of Edappadi K Palaniswami staking their claim for Two Leaves in the bypoll, the symbol faces the threat of being frozen for the third time.

And Saturday also saw both factions of the AIADMK knocking at the doors of TN BJP’s headquarters Kamalalayam, seeking the saffron party’s support for the by-election.

Also Read: AIADMK-Congress fight in Erode (east) bypolls

OPS, while eager to stake claim for the AIADMK, also said he was ready to step aside if the BJP enters the fray in Erode (east), in “national interest”, and claimed that his nominee will be the “official candidate” of the principal Opposition party.

Palaniswami continued to hold discussions with his party colleagues at his residence in Salem for the second consecutive day, while his lieutenants D Jayakumar, and P Thangamani met state BJP chief K Annamalai seeking his support. An hour later, Panneerselvam turned up at Kamalalayam to meet Annamalai, who is believed to have given a patient hearing to both sides.

Twitter users drew a comparison of the AIADMK under J Jayalalithaa and recalled scenes of top BJP leaders waiting outside the palatial Poes Garden bungalow of the late leader to get her audience.

The BJP, which is mulling over its options, is actually in a fix as supporting one faction will invite the wrath of the other. “We will decide our stand in the next few days,” a senior BJP leader told DH. The BJP has told the high command that it would like to test waters in Erode (east) on its own, but there has been no response from the national capital so far.

If both factions of the AIADMK and AMMK led by T T V Dhinakaran, who didn’t rule out his own candidature, contest the bypoll, it would become a multi-cornered contest with votes getting split three-way. Such a proposition would further help the Congress consolidate its position further in the constituency which has a sizable chunk of the Muslim population.

Even as the AIADMK factions fight it out in the open, the ruling DMK began the campaign in favour of the Congress nominee, whose name is yet to be declared, on Saturday.