AIADMK chief whip seeks disqualification of three party MLAs for allegedly supporting TTV Dhinakaran

The chief whip of the AIADMK, S Rajendran, on Friday submitted a petition to Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal seeking the disqualification of three party MLAs for "anti-party activities". The three legislators — EA Rathinasabapathi, A Prabu and VT Kalaiselvan — still allegedly owe allegiance to former party leader TTV Dhinakaran.[caption id="attachment_3140770" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. Reuters[/caption]The Speaker, according to reports, is going to send a show cause notice to the three AIADMK legislators.The news comes at a time when Tamil Nadu is voting in Assembly bypolls simultaneously with the Lok Sabha election. As many as 22 bypolls were scheduled to be held with the Lok Sabha election.On 18 April, the second phase of the parliamentary election, bypolls to 18 Assembly segments in Tamil Nadu were held along with elections to 38 Lok Sabha seats. Bypolls to three Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu are scheduled for 19 May, the last phase of the Lok Sabha election.In the current Tamil Nadu Assembly, AIADMK has 113 MLAs, minus the Speaker. The party needs a simple majority of 117 to continue in the 234-member House.To win an absolute majority of 118 with its current numbers, AIADMK has to win 10 of the 22 bypolls to continue heading the government. If these three MLAs are disqualified, the party will need eight wins.