Madras high court verdict may help Jaya in faction war

Sacked AIADMK deputy general secretary S Thirunavukkarasu has no locus standi to hold the party's parallel general council meeting, ruled the Madras high court this week.

Upholding former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha Jayaram's petition seeking derecognition of the rebel AIADMK, Justice S S Subramani also ordered costs.

Thirunavukkarasu, who sacked Jayalalitha from the party at the said meeting, promised to move the appellate court. ''We are consulting our lawyers, particularly on the technical issues,'' said a leader close to the former minister.

Despite the claims and counter-claims made by the rival groups, the high court verdict will definitely have a bearing on the proceedings before the Election Commission. ''With the court upholding Thirunavukkarasu's dismissal by Jayalalitha, there is little that the Election Commission could do,'' said a Jayalalitha supporter on the Thiruvukkarasu group's hope that the ''Two Leaves'' symbol would be frozen in case it is not granted to them. ''Why will the EC go into issues like majority and related issues when the very meeting called by Thirunavukkarasu has been held illegal?''

The verdict will also affect the proceedings initiated by Tamil Nadu assembly speaker P T R Palanivel Rajan to verify Thirunavukkarasu's claim that he heads the real AIADMK, said the leader.

Thirunavukkarasu may find the going tough on another count. Few realise that Rajya Sabha Chairman K R Narayanan's decision to recognise the sacked leader's seven-member faction as the AIADMK (II) stands to benefit the former chief minister.

''With seven of the 14 MPs on its side, the Thirunavukkarasu faction would have required only one more to upset Jayalalitha's apple-cart. Not any more. Separate identity for the two factions now means the rebels will have to spirit away at least three more MPs to escape the rigours of the anti-defection law,'' said the leader.

Realising that this would be very difficult, some of the Thirunavukkarasu group's MPs are thinking of returning to the parent-fold, said a senior leader. The group enjoys the support of just two of the seven party legislators from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. So, a legislative head count by the Election Commission will favour Jayalalitha, it is said.