No record of AIADMK’s general council meeting that expelled OPS, EC tells SC
The director (law) of the ECI, Vijay Kumar Pandey, in the affidavit filed on February 1 stated that bye-laws dated last July “were not taken on record by the answering respondent as the same is under challenge, including the manner and the processing which the amendments were passed in the said meeting, in a number of litigations and counter litigations.”
The Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court that it has not recorded the AIADMK’s general council meeting on July 11 last year which expelled O Panneerselvam (OPS) and elected Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) as the party’s interim general secretary.
ECI made these submissions pertaining to an urgent petition filed by the EPS’ faction on January 27 praying for the Supreme Cpurt to direct the poll body to upload the latest amended bye-laws of the AIADMK dated last July 11. The ECI, the sixth respondent in the case, said in its affidavit that it does not “regulate or monitor inner-party functions or internal elections of any political party as the same is neither envisaged under the Constitution of India nor under any other law.”
The director (law) of the ECI, Vijay Kumar Pandey, in the affidavit filed on February 1 stated that bye-laws dated last July “were not taken on record by the answering respondent as the same is under challenge, including the manner and the processing which the amendments were passed in the said meeting, in a number of litigations and counter litigations.”
He also submitted that the litigating parties never raised a dispute in terms of paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968 triggering any action by the ECI under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 read with the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968. EPS’ camp moved the top court in view of a by-election slated in Tamil NAdu’s Erode East constituency on February 27 so that he gets the AIADMK’s two-leaf symbol.
OPS and EPS became coordinator and joint coordinator of the AIADMK in 2017 following J Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016. Their dual leadership positions were solidified in December 2021 by amending AIADMK’s by-laws. But EPS through the general council last July expelled OPS and his supporters from the party. OPS has already challenged the July 11 proceedings in the Supreme Court, which is also pending.
On Thursday, both EPS and OPS announced a candidate each from their faction as the ‘real AIADMK’ candidate. While EPS has the brute majority of the party supporting him, OPS has maintained that he remains the coordinator of the AIADMK and has utilised the ECI’s records of their dual leadership to support his claim.
With regards to the acceptance of nomination filed by candidates of recognised political party, the ECI in its affidavit said, “The Returning Officer being the statutory authority, has to exercise due diligence for acceptance of nomination of candidate duly authorised by the office-bearer of the political party which is on record of the Election Commission.”
It remains to be seen to whom the two-leaf symbol will be allotted by the ECI or if the symbol will be frozen given the feud between OPS and EPS for the party.
