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‘Followed EC records’: Poll officer on inviting EPS, OPS
The clarification on Sunday came after the AIADMK had said that the CEO should not have addressed the communication to the coordinator and joint coordinator. “I went by the documents that were provided to me by the ECI,” Sahoo said, responding to questions from reporters.
Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer Satyabrata Sahoo on Sunday said he invited both Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and O Panneerselvam (OPS) as coordinator and joint coordinator of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for a meeting on January 16 based on the records of the Election Commission of India.
The clarification on Sunday came after the AIADMK had said that the CEO should not have addressed the communication to the coordinator and joint coordinator. “I went by the documents that were provided to me by the ECI,” Sahoo said, responding to questions from reporters.
On December 30, Sahoo wrote to leaders of all political parties seeking their opinion on the remote voting machines for migrant workers. The letter set off a political storm, with the faction led by EPS refusing to accept the letter, and OPS said that this is the “real situation.”
This came after an AIADMK general council meeting in July abolished the dual leadership posts where OPS was the coordinator and EPS was the joint coordinator. Instead, EPS, who enjoys a brute majority, was made AIADMK’s interim general secretary while OPS and his supporters were expelled. OPS challenged this in the Supreme Court because of which EPS’ faction submitted that they would not elect him as a general secretary during the pendency of the case.
So far, other bodies have addressed invites only to EPS. Speaking to reporters on Friday after receiving the invite, OPS said that in December 2021, the AIADMK elected him as coordinator and EPS as joint coordinator, which he said continues to exist.
“From then, till now, the Election Commission of India has been addressed as coordinator and joint coordinator. We have faced urban and local body polls after that,” OPS said.
Amidst this, the Union government invited EPS as the party’s representative for the G20 meeting in Delhi. And on December 29, the National Law Commission addressed EPS as AIADMK’s general secretary seeking his opinion on conducting assembly and parliamentary elections simultaneously. OPS had taken exception in both cases and wrote to the parliamentary affairs ministry and the law commission.
OPS’s legal faction told the law commission that EPS is not the elected general secretary of AlADMK as the election for the post is still on hold and is not been conducted by the party yet due to a civil suit pending on this case.
The EPS camp said the CEO should have addressed the letter to the interim general secretary (EPS), who was appointed to the post by the general council on July 11. “The legal team will discuss the next action,” said an EPS supporter.
