Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK Joint Coordinator Edapaddi Palaniswami on Monday said if eight of the 18 disqualified MLAs joined the party they would be welcomed with open heart.

The Chief Minister told media persons at Tiruchirapalli if the eight disqualified legislators including Thanga Tamilselvan would soon be rejoining AIADMK their arrival would be appreciated. For the present it is all speculation.

Will the MLAs get ministerial berth if they return to the party, the chief minister refrained from giving a direct answer.

At present there is a legal ban on bypoll, the CM said.

Eighteen AIADMK legislators were disqualified as law makers by Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P.Dhanapal

These 18 MLAs had met the Governor and gave a memorandum expressing loss of confidence in Chief Minister Palaniswami and requested him to appoint a new Chief Minister.

The disqualified legislators had filed a case against the Speaker’s action and on June 14, a two member bench of Madras High Court gave a split verdict with the Chief Justice Indira Banerjee upholding the disqualification while companion judge Justice M. Sundar held that the Speaker’s decision was invalid.