On behalf of the Chief Election Commission of India, former minister C.V Shanmugam has personally presented the documents containing all the information including the resolutions passed in the AIADMK general body meeting and the appointment of Edappadi K. Palanisamy (EPS) as the interim general secretary, removal O.Pannerselvam (OPS) from the party, and amendments to the party rules.
In response, O. Panneerselvam has also sent a letter to the Chief Election Commission of India. In it he has said, 'All the rules of the party were violated in the AIADMK General body meeting held in Chennai on July 11. They have brought amendments and passed resolutions against the bylaws of the party.
Based on the amendments, Edappadi Palaniswami has been chosen as the interim general secretary. He said that the Election Commission should not accept this decision.
OPS went to court twice pleading an order that AIADMK general body meeting should not be held. However, the verdict was in favor of the EPS and his team. At present, the OPS’ team relies heavily on the Chief Election Commission of India. Through this, the OPS side is moving the ball to block the Edappadi team.
The reason is that among the documents so far filed in the Election Commission of India, the main evidence is that the AIADMK will function under a dual leadership.
Therefore, the OPS side has urged the Election Commission not to accept the new documents provided by the EPS team. It is expected that the OPS side will meet the election officials in person and submit a complaint.
The Chief Electoral Officers will consult legal experts regarding the documents submitted to the Election Commission on behalf of EPS and OPS. In general, the decisions taken in the past in states across India when similar issues have arisen will also be examined.
The Election Commission officials have already started the process of reviewing the complaints and documents related to the AIADMK infighting.
The Election Commission is consulting on sending notices to both the factions soon. Officials are considering various provisions related to what explanations should be sought and how many days should be given to respond.
After the notice has been served and both parties have responded to their respective notices, the Election Commission will announce a final decision.
But no time limit can be imposed on this. Therefore, both parties are waiting for the decision of the Election Commission to be announced.
What the Election Commission is going to say is something none can predict as of now.