'Two leaves' symbol allotted to EPS-OPS faction

Election Commission on Thursday allotted the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam' (AIADMK) 'two leaves' symbol to the party's faction led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.

In an 83-page order, the poll body ruled that the Palaniswami- Panneerselvam (EPS-OPS) faction will be entitled to use the name of the party and its reserved symbol, holding that it enjoyed majority in the party's legislative and organisational wings.

The other faction led by TTV Dinakaran, Sasikala's nephew, had also laid claim over the symbol after a power tussle ensued in the party following the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in December last year.

Earlier in the day, Palaniswami said the EC has allotted the disputed symbol to his faction.

"The Election Commission has given the judgement in our favour. We had facts on our side and majority of MLAs, MPs and party workers were with us. All this was taken into consideration," he said.

The two factions filed a written submission before the EC in the case on November 13.

The commission's decision has put an end to almost an year-long dispute between warring factions.

Following the demise of Jayalalithaa, a tug of war had broken out among the party members to retrieve the official party symbol.

In a general council meeting on September 12, the merged factions of EPS and OPS had passed a resolution stating that the AIADMK would be a unified faction and shall retrieve the two leaves symbol and the AIADMK name.