Chennai, Dec 4 (NationPress) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has conveyed to the Delhi High Court that it is unable to allocate the Pattali Makkal Katchi’s (PMK) 'mango' symbol to either the faction led by Anbumani Ramadoss or the one led by S. Ramadoss, owing to the current internal leadership clash within the party.

The prolonged division between PMK founder Dr. S. Ramadoss and his son, former Union Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, has escalated, creating legal and organizational turmoil.

Dr. Ramadoss asserts that his son's term as party president has lapsed, positioning himself as the legitimate leader of PMK. Conversely, Anbumani argues that the ECI has already acknowledged him as the president of the party based on previously submitted documentation. In this regard, Anbumani had been recognized by the ECI as party president, based on documents that Dr. Ramadoss now claims were flawed.

Disputing this recognition, the PMK founder has lodged a petition with the Delhi High Court, asserting that the ECI accepted “incorrect documents” without due diligence and ignored the authentic records he provided.

This issue was heard on Thursday before Justice Mini Pushkarna.

During the hearing, the ECI firmly stated that it cannot validate Form A and Form B from either faction as both claim rightful ownership of the party. Therefore, it declared that the PMK’s election symbol must remain “frozen” until the dispute is resolved legally.

Senior advocate Balbir Singh, representing Dr. Ramadoss, claimed that Anbumani had misrepresented information to the ECI. He contended that Anbumani’s term was limited to three years and expired in May 2025; however, he allegedly submitted documents indicating that a general body meeting in 2023 was, in fact, the one from 2022, thus extending his term to 2026.

Singh argued that despite the founder submitting legitimate records, the ECI had mistakenly recognized Anbumani.

He further stated that when two individuals assert leadership of a political party, the ECI lacks the authority to resolve the matter—this must be adjudicated by an appropriate court.

Meanwhile, the counsel for Anbumani dismissed the accusations as an attempt to mislead the court. They insisted that the founder’s petition should be dismissed and emphasized that their faction legitimately represents the PMK, noting that Dr. Ramadoss is currently 90 years old.

Reiterating its stance, the ECI emphasized that when internal disputes arise during an electoral cycle, the party symbol cannot be assigned, and the institution should not bear the blame for conflicts stemming from within political organizations.