Viju Cherian
In the ongoing fight for proprietary rights over the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the latest round has gone to the faction headed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and his deputy O Panneerselvam (OPS).
The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that the election commission’s 2017 decision to give the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol to the EPS-OPS faction was right and dismissed the petition filed by AIADMK former interim general secretary VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran.
For the AIADMK, which has been plagued by faction wars and setbacks since the demise of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016, this is a big boost. The win gains more significance as it comes close to the general elections. However, will this be enough to lift the fortunes of the ruling party?
The importance of the ‘Two Leaves’ party symbol is that it is synonymous with AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran (MGR) and Jayalalithaa. Elections watchers will agree that for party sympathisers, fans of MGR and Jaya, and many more, it’s the symbol (two leaves) that counts — the candidate seldom matters. In such a scenario, for EPS and OPS the Delhi court’s decision is a major relief.
However, the AIADMK government’s performance over the past two years has eroded much of the goodwill and confidence the people had in it. That the party will be contesting for fewer seats than what it had won in 2014 shows the lack of confidence the party has in itself. Moreover, by now it is clear that though the BJP is a smaller party than the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, the alliance will be an NDA alliance.
Another challenge the AIADMK will be facing is from Dhinakaran. Contesting the RK Nagar bypoll on his own, he showed the AIADMK (and its allies) that he was a force to reckon with in Tamil Nadu politics. He has the support of many AIADMK MLAs and also among local leaders and cadre across Tamil Nadu; especially in the southern part of the state.
The MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has tied up with the Congress for the general elections and this alliance is expected to have an edge over the AIADMK-BJP alliance.
Taking into account these factors, it is clear that while regaining the ‘two leaves’ symbol is a shot in the arm, the AIADMK will need more to come its way to win the Lok Sabha polls in a convincing manner.
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