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Tamil Nadu: Sasikala to file curative petition for AIADMK’s name and symbol
The EC on November 23, 2017, allotted the chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami-led government with the symbol after freezing it briefly when the two factions vied for it following Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016
In her effort to reclaim the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) which expelled her, VK Sasikala a close aide of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, will look for legal recourse challenging the election commission’s (EC) 2017 order allotting the party name and the iconic two leaves symbol to the present AIADMK government. “We will file a curative petition soon,” said her lawyer Raja Senthoor Pandian. “We haven’t filed a case so far due to the pandemic and we had expected her to be released by August on remission. So we thought of filing it once she is out. We have to discuss.”
The EC on November 23, 2017, allotted the chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami-led government with the symbol after freezing it briefly when the two factions vied for it following Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016. Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran challenged this in the Delhi high court, which, in 2019, upheld the EC order. The Supreme Court also dismissed two following petitions—in March 2019 and in July 2020.
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Sasikala will return to Chennai after completing a week’s quarantine in Bengaluru. On Sunday, she was discharged from the city’s Victoria Hospital where she was treated for a severe Covid-19 infection. Sending out her first political message, Sasikala left the hospital in a car bearing the AIADMK flag. She was hospitalised a week before her release from prison on January 27 in the disproportionate assets case where Jayalalithaa was also accused.
The AIADMK, which expelled Sasikala and Dhinakaran on September 12, 2017, have condemned her for using the flag, terming it illegal. Law minister CV Shunmugam warned of legal action against “Sasikala or anyone” who is not a member of the party and “misuses the flag”. But Dinakaran has justified her move saying that she is the party’s general secretary. Dinakaran, an independent MLA, floated the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) with a faction of Sasikala’s supporters who want her to unite them by reclaiming the AIADMK. Palaniswami, who is the chief ministerial candidate in the AIADMK-led NDA alliance which goes to polls in April-May, has made clear that Sasikala will not be taken back.
Sasikala briefly held the reins of the party after Jayalalithaa’s death amidst a power struggle with loyalist-turned-rebel O Paneerselvam. She handpicked Palaniswami as chief minister before surrendering in prison but he later united with Paneerselvam. After ousting her, the AIADMK created new posts in their by-laws with Paneerselvam as coordinator and Palaniswami as joint coordinator and Jayalalithaa as the “eternal general secretary”.
Sasikala has challenged this matter which is pending in the Madras high court. The AIADMK has expelled party functionaries who put up posters welcoming Sasikala after her release. “She may gain some supporters but the AIADMK status quo will continue,” says political analyst Ravindran Duraisamy. “The present AIADMK has contested the 2019 parliamentary elections and by-elections on the symbol and name without any hindrance. It’s a settled matter.”
