Chennai: The two warring AIADMK factions are planning to take legal measures following the directive of the Election Commission to freeze the two leaves symbol.

Former chief minister O Paneerselvam said in a statement late on Wednesday that despite placing before the Election Commission strong arguments “it is saddening that we were not able to get the two leaves symbol”. It would be retrieved through legal means, he added.

Party deputy general secretary T.T.V.Dinakaran, who is to be the Sasikala faction candidate for the RK Nagar bye-election, told the media that it would look at legal recourse to lift the freezing of the party symbol.

The allotment of the symbol is comes when the bye-election will be held on April 12 in RK Nagar, following the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The Panneerselvam faction has fielded E. Madhusudanan.

Ruling out any advantage for the Opposition DMK through the symbol freeze and the split in the ruling party, political analyst Gnani Shankaran told a media agency that as things stood, it was advantage Dinakaran.

“The by-election is not a test for the leadership of DMK working president M.K.Stalin. The Panneerselvam faction and the BJP, which has fielded music director and lyricist Gangai Amaran, will be fighting for the third spot,” he added.

In an interim order late on Wednesday night, the Election Commission froze the ‘two leaves’ poll symbol and also ordered that neither of the two factions will use the party name.

It said that both groups shall be known by such names as they may choose, showing, if they so desired, links with their parent party – AIADMK.