Warring factions in Maha & nostalgia it brings to party leaders

CHENNAI: The relief provided by the Apex court to rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, incumbent Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has left tongues wagging among politicians and party-affiliated lawyers in TN.

The Supreme Court has restrained the MHLA deputy speaker from disqualifying MLAs supporting Shinde and ordered status quo till July 11. Advocates and politicians here, who were involved in the legal challenges between the warring factions of the AIADMK after the demise of party general secretary J Jayalalithaa, opined that the wheels of their political fortunes would have turned differently if they had received similar orders back then.

When 18 MLAs were disqualified by the then TNLA speaker P Dhanapal for supporting rebel AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran in 2018, the SC refused to take the appeal challenging the split verdict by a division bench of Madras HC.

It also appointed a senior judge of the Madras HC (next to Chief Justice) to pass orders on the appeal. The third judge upheld the order of the TNLA speaker. However, in Shinde’s case, a vacation bench of the SC ordered the status quo.

Advocates representing the AMMK and Sasikala faction expressed their desires to this reporter that if such a direction was given in their case by the SC, they could have emerged as a major force and retrieved the AIADMK, and the tussle between OPS and EPS could have been avoided.