Delhi HC asks official to decide on Dinakaran's plea for poll symbol

The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected a plea of T.T.V. Dinakaran to grant the "hat" symbol for the December 21 bye-election to the R.K. Nagar assembly seat in Tamil Nadu and directed the Returning Officer to decide his plea.

Justice Indermeet Kaur refused to entertain the plea of Dinakaran, a nephew of jailed AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala, but asked the poll official to decide whom the 'hat' symbol be allotted for the bypoll to the seat which fell vacant after J. Jayalalithaa's death.

Dinakaran had sought an interim direction to the Election Commission to allow for the use of the symbol in the bypoll.

The court was hearing a plea by Sasikala and Dinakaran to challenge the commission's order to allot "two leaves" symbol to a faction led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.

In March, the commission froze the use of "two leaves" symbol and allotted the "hat" symbol to the Sasikala-Dinakaran faction of the AIADMK and granted "electric pole" symbol to the Palaniswami-Panneerselvam faction.

Later, the commission had cancelled the allotment of the "hat" symbol.

On November 23, the commission had said that since the Palaniswami-Panneerselvam faction "enjoys the support of majority of members, both in organisational and legislature wings" of the AIADMK, it was entitled to use the party name and the 'two leaves' symbol.

--IANS

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