Setback to AIADMK, SC stays disqualification notice of three dissident MLAs

CHENNAI: In a big setback to the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK, the Supreme Court today stayed the disqualification proceedings against three dissident MLAs. This is a big blow to the AIADMK government that is facing a test of strength as elections are going on 22 seats along with the general elections.

E Rathinasabapathy and VT Kalaiselvan had moved the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking to strike down the Speaker's order on grounds that disqualification proceedings against them should not be taken forward when a no-confidence motion, proposed by the Opposition DMK against the Speaker, is pending.

The apex court on Monday granted an interim stay on the Speaker’s show-cause to them and a third MLA, Prabhu of Kallakurichi, all of whom are deemed to have switched allegiance to TTV Dhinakaran.

The AIADMK, with 113 seats in the Assembly, would require nearly 10 more seats to comfortably pass the halfway mark of the present strength of the House. The SC has just neutralised its bid to bring down the halfway mark by reducing the strength through disqualifications.

Since the merger of the O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami factions in September 2017, the combined AIADMK has been circumspect about lawmakers with hidden loyalties to VK Sasikala, and TTV Dhinakaran, who refers to these MLAs as his “sleeper cells.”

After the merger, the AIADMK had set up a one-man commission to probe into the death of J Jayalalithaa. The needle of suspicion had originally pointed toward VK Sasikala, who had been staying with Jayalalithaa and held enormous power in the top brass immediately after Jayalalithaa’s death. O Paneeerselvam’s rebellion in February 2017 against her ascent within the party and VK Sasikala’s subsequent imprisonment in the disproportionate assets case that dogged Jayalalithaa ensured that Dhinakaran became an outlying contender to the late chief minister's legacy –particularly the Two Leaves symbol.

For Dhinakaran, the Lok Sabha 2019 elections and the 22-seat bypolls have proved, at the same time, to be a challenge and an opportunity: he has taken on the organisational strength of the DMK and the AIADMK, a tall order for a newcomer into the electoral fray.

His opportunity lies in the chance of claiming Jayalalithaa’s legacy should he win a significant vote-share. For the AIADMK, ridden with factionalism, winning the bypolls is the only way to keep the government till the end of its current tenure in 2012. The DMK, waiting for power since 2011, can end its drought and also silence critics about MK Stalin’s “poor electioneering.”

The ongoing bypoll season has thus, for a multitude of reasons, created a suspense on the future of the top players in the fray.