EC to decide fate of Sasikala, Panneerselvam today

The Election Commission will decide today which faction of the AIADMK will get its poll symbol two leaves. It will also decide whether the appointment of VK Sasikala as the party's general secretary is valid or not.

The Commission has called both the Sasikala and the O Panneerselvam factions for a hearing today to decide on the symbol and other issues.

"We have asked representatives/lawyers of both the camps to be present on Wednesday and give their arguments on the appointment of Sasikala as general secretary and also on the issue of two leaves symbol for R K Nagar constituency. We have clubbed the representations made by MPs and MLAs so that they could be heard on Wednesday," a senior EC official was quoted as saying.

Both the camps are upbeat. "The truth is with us. Party members, people and above all the party bylaws are with us. We will definitely win on both the issues," AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP V Maitreyan said.

AIADMK deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran said, "we will surely win. Because 95 per cent of the members, office-bearers and MLAs are with us."

The poll panel may choose to freeze the symbol instead of authorising either camp to use it, reports said.

The Panneerselvam-led faction has told the EC that Sasikala's elevation as General Secretary of the AIADMK is invalid.

The long-time aide of Jayalalithaa, now an inmate in a Bengaluru prison after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case in February, has defended her appointment in a 70-page document.