Chennai: After freeze of two leave symbol by the election commission, the two factions of AIADMK led by VK Sasikala and O Panneerselvam respectively will have to work doubly hard for Amma’s legacy in the RK Nagar assembly bye election slated for April 12.

New symbols and names given to the two factions means that none of them gets to use either the two leaves symbol or the party name AIADMK, both of which are familiar with the electorate, predominantly lower middle class in the constituency, and will have to be educated about their new names and symbols.

The OPS faction has got the symbol of an electric pole, that remotely resembles the two leaves symbol, and its name is AIADMK Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (”Revolutionary Leader Amma”). Its candidate E Madhusudhanan filed nomination papers today after the new symbol was allotted to the party, after the now mandatory visit to Amma’s memorial on Marina Beach.

His principal opponent from the Sasikala faction, her nephew TTV Dinakaran, too filed his papers to contest on the party name AIADMK AMMA with a party symbol, a hat. Jayalalithaa’s niece, Deepa Jayakumar, too filed her nomination today and the DMK candidate had already filed papers on Wednesday.

What makes the contest interesting as well as confusing, for the participants, candidates, party cadres as well as the voters is the fact that the name AIADMK alone cannot be used by either of the parties and they must use the new given names.

The observers are wondering if the confusion relating to this aspect would give an advantage to the DMK, where the symbol of rising sun is well known and there is no confusion regarding the official status of the party.

It is for the second time in the history of AIADMK that its symbol was frozen the first being in 1988 when the party split into two factions, one led by MGR’s widow Janaki Ramacnahdran and the other led by Jayalalithaa.

What is more interesting is that despite the fact that OPS and 11 other MLAs have rebelled against VK Sasikala, action against them may not be taken as it would result in more bye elections that the party can ill afford to face given the public mood and sentiment against Sasikala.

In fact, it is this aspect that is giving some sleepless nights to TTV Dinakaran who put up a brave face on Wednesday after EC froze the AIADMK symbol, His party spokesperson CR Saraswathi questioned and criticized the decision betraying the party’s nervousness over the issue.