TTV Dhinakaran keeps ‘gift pack’ for four bypolls

Chennai: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday allotted 'gift pack' symbol to the candidates of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) led by AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran for the May 19 by-elections in the four Assembly constituencies-Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram, Sulur and Tiruparankundram.

The ECI order came close on the heels of the application from TTV seeking registration of AMMK as a registered party. The EC upon the Supreme Court order had allotted a common symbol (gift pack) for all his candidates in the April 18 elections for Lok Sabha and the by-elections to 18 vacant seats in the Assembly.

Now that the ECI had announced by-polls to four Assembly seats--they had been withheld earlier as the ECI told the Apex Court there were court cases relating to them-TTV has approached the Commission with his request for 'gift pack' symbol for his four candidates. Since the AMMK had already fought the April 18 polls under this symbol, it would be easy for the party to take the familiar symbol to the voters, the AMMK petition said.

 "On due consideration of the application and taking into account the spirit of the order dated 26.03.2019 of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the Commission has decided to extend the concession of common symbol 'Gift Pack' to the candidates on behalf of the group led by Shri (T T V) Dhinakaran for the current by-elections," ECI's Under Secretary Kaptan Chand said. His order has been communicated to Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo.

All the 22 by-elections are critically important for the ruling party led by O Panneerselvam as its convener and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami as the co-convener. The party should win at least half-a-dozen seats to ensure survival as it now runs on a wafer-thin majority-it has the support of 115 MLAs, including Speaker P Dhanapal, in a House with current strength of 212 (total strength:234). Three 'independent' MLAs, who had got elected on Two Leaves symbol of the AIADMK but continue to maintain own outfits, have been swinging between the AIADMK, TTV's AMMK and the DMK.

While Sulur fell vacant after its MLA Kanagaraj died of heart attack, the schedule for Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram and Tiruparankundram was not announced along with the other 18 constituencies that went to polls on April 18 because there are election petitions relating them.