Chennai: The Election Commission of India, on Thursday, recognised the EPS-OPS faction as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and allotted the magical “Two Leaves” symbol to them after applying the “test of majority” formula, handing down a decisive victory to the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam.
The 83-page order, signed by Chief Election Commissioner A K Joti and Election Commissioners O P Rawat and Sunil Arora, deals a body blow to beleaguered rebel TTV Dhinakaran and his jailed aunt Sasikala, whose sacking as “interim General Secretary” by the General Council was also accepted by the poll body.
Effectively, the party’s hierarchy has been restored to the pre-Jayalalithaa era which means E. Madhusudhanan, the original petitioner in the case, will be the senior-most leader in the AIADMK in his capacity as Presidium Chairman. The EC also put his stamp on the General Council’s decision to do away with the post of general secretary, overriding Dhinakaran camp’s stiff opposition.
The EC said the EPS-OPS faction’s contention that “test of majority” rule should be applied to determine the outcome of the case was accepted since that was the formula on which similar disputes were resolved.
This is the first time in the history of independent India that a registered political party has got back its symbol which was frozen twice. The Two Leaves, which holds sway among lakhs of people in Tamil Nadu, was frozen in 1988 following split in the party after the death of legendary M G Ramachandran and was restored to the AIADMK after the Janaki and Jayalalithaa factions merged.
“The said group led by Shri E Madhusudhanan and others is hereby recognised, in terms of para 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is a recognised party in the state of Tamil Nadu and in the Union Territory of Puducherry, for whom the symbol ‘Two Leaves’ is reserved,” the EC order said, rescinding the order passed on March 22 freezing the symbol.
In a unanimous order, the full-bench of the Election Commission dismissed almost all contentions of the respondents—Sasikala and Dhinakaran, and ruled that the name of the party and the symbol were being allotted to the group since majority of the elected representatives have put their weight behind it and the faction also commands majority in the all-powerful General Council.
Election Commission said the EPS-OPS camp enjoys support of 111 MLAs, 7 short of the magic figure of 118 in the house of 234, 34 Lok Sabha MPs and eight Rajya Sabha MPs and contended that it following the established “test of majority” formula which was used to resolve similar kind of disputes in Samajwadi Party (SP) and Janata Dal (United) JD(U) this year.
The order, after scouring through the affidavits, said the TTV camp enjoys support of just 20 MLAs, including 18 who were disqualified and 6 MPs. Going by the EC’s order, three MLAs of the AIADMK barring the Speaker have not joined any faction.
The EC, while contending that Sasikala and Dhinakaran have not rejected the applicability of test of majority, said there was no doubt that the EPS-OPS camp enjoys the majority in legislature party, parliamentary party and in the party’s general council despite the claims by the respondents that many such affidavits are forged.
Factions led by Akhilesh Yadav and Nitish Kumar was allotted the symbols of SP and JD(U) after a split in their respective parties since they commanded majority in the party.
“Having decided that the test of majority as upheld in Sadiq Ali’s case will be applied by the Commission in adjudicating the present dispute, the next question which arises for consideration of the Commission is the relevant period with reference to which the said test of majority should be applied; that is to say, whether the developments which took place in the organisational and legislature hierarchy of the party subsequent to the filing of the current petition on 16.03.2017, are relevant for deciding the present dispute,” the order said.
What is test of majority formula?
Election Commission usually follows the test of majority formula to decide disputes that arise out of split in any political party. The faction or group that enjoys majority in legislature and organisational wings is usually recognised as the party and symbol allotted to it.
Test of majority was first applied by the EC in the case of split in the Indian National Congress in 1969 and which was upheld by the Supreme Court in Sadiq Ali and Another Vs. Election Commission of India and Others in 1972.
