Tamil Nadu Erode East Bypoll: Panneerselvam Faction Withdraws Candidate; Says Ready To Campaign For Victory Of 'Two Leaves' Symbol

The O Panneerselvam (OPS) faction of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has announced the withdrawal of its candidate, Senthil Murugan.

The announcement was made at a press meet by KP Krishnan, a former agriculture minister of the state.

When asked by reporters if the faction would support KS Thennarasu, i.e., the candidate put up by the Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) faction, Krishnan said that the OPS faction would seek votes for the 'two-leaves' symbol as it is the symbol of former chief ministers MG Ramachandran (MGR) and J Jayalalitha.

The announcement was welcomed by the EPS faction.

Earlier, the OPS faction had objected to the procedure of selection of the party's candidate. It said that the form did not contain the name of its candidate, Senthil Murugan and was designed like a 'referendum.'

According to political commentators, while OPS had earlier indicated that he would challenge the form because he believed it to be vitiating the Supreme Court's order, he may have dropped the plan due to lack of time as 7 February is the last date of nominations.

A few days back, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai had also said that it would be preferable if the OPS faction withdraws its candidate.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu Erode East Bypoll: OPS Faction Objects To Procedure Of Candidate Selection; Results To Be Submitted To EC Today