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Local body bypolls: AIADMK to boycott elections amid leadership crisis
The state election commission has announced elections to bypolls in over 500 rural and urban local body seats out of which 34 will be fought under party symbols
Amid an ongoing leadership crisis, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party has decided to boycott the upcoming bypolls to urban and rural local bodies in Tamil Nadu, two senior leaders and key associates of Edappadi Palaniswami confirmed to HT.
The state election commission has announced elections to bypolls in over 500 rural and urban local body seats out of which 34 will be fought under party symbols. O Panneerselvam (OPS) on Wednesday wrote to Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) that he is ready to sign authorisation forms so that the AIADMK cadre can fight under the two-leaves symbol but the latter didn’t respond.
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“We have made an informal decision to boycott the bypolls given the changes that we are going through,” said a senior party leader and a key associate of EPS requesting anonymity.
Another key supporter of EPS, also on the condition of anonymity, said that when they have not announced party candidates and officials, to whom would they give these authorisation forms.
OPS in his letter had said that their signatures with him as coordinator and EPS joint coordinator were necessary under party bylaws approved by the election commission to file nominations under the AIADMK party symbol.
He requested EPS to sign Form A and B. The lack of authorisation saw the AIADMK cadre filing nominations as independent candidates.
The last date for filing nominations ended on Monday with the last day for withdrawal on Thursday.
However, the OPS camp said that authorisation forms can be given until 3pm on Thursday.
“We have not officially selected and announced party candidates so who are we to select and give Form A and Form B in the last minute,” the second leader quoted above said.
“OPS only went to the police and court and created problems before the general council and now he is asking for this”, he added.
This is the first problematic outcome of the AIADMK’s crisis to move from a dual leadership to a single leader under EPS over the use of party symbols flagged by OPS.
AIADMK’s deputy coordinator R Vaithilingam told reporters that the duo’s joint signature is required for anybody to file nominations under the two-leaves symbol.
“They were elected by the primary members in December 2021 and this arrangement will continue until their 5-year tenure ends,” he said.
