As both EPS and OPS are battling for the party's 'Two Leaves' symbol, the recent developments display that OPS will likely withdraw his candidate from the race.
DMK's ally Congress has fielded former Union Minister EVKS Elangovan as its candidate. Elangovan is the father of deceased Congress MLA Thirumahan Everaa, whose demise earlier last month had necessitated the bypoll.
The political infight between these two leaders have put ADMK in chaos and as they prepare to fight against each other in the bypoll, the ADMK cadres are left in a lurch over the first electoral battle between both the leaders.
As NTK has secured 10,021 votes and finished third in the race in the 2021 assembly polls in Erode East, the party hopes to be a competitive contender in the upcoming bypoll.
On the other hand, EPS has recently approached the Supreme Court and sought a directive to the Election Commission of India to allocate the party's 'Two leaves' symbol to him.
With the strong support from the DMK alliance, Elangovan holds an advantage in the bypoll race and recently, he also got a backing from Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam.
On Wednesday - January 25, Kamal Haasan announced that his party would support the Congress candidate in the Erode East bypoll, that has been scheduled to be held on February 27.
Their rivalry has now sparked a battle for ADMK's trademark 'Two leaves' symbol ahead of the Erode East bypoll and it's certain that whoever wins the battle would possibly enjoy the symbol in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
