Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder-president S. Ramadoss submitted before the Madras High Court that his son, Anbumani, had committed fraud against the Election Commission by creating forged documents. The veteran leader was seeking a direction for the poll panel to allot the mango symbol to his bloc and send an official communication in this regard to him.
The forged documents created by Anbumani were challenged before the Delhi High Court on 4 December 2025, Ramadoss said in his plea. The change of names of office-bearers led by President Ramadoss and his office address was also communicated to the ECI. A request was also made to allot the mango symbol to him, he added. The Madras High Court on Monday ordered notice to the Election Commission on the petition filed by the PMK founder-president.
For the unversed, the PMK, largely backed by Vanniyar voters, remains deeply divided today as a consequence of the fallout between the father and son. Ramadoss and Anbumani have been in open conflict since April 2025. Each district committee of the party now has two parallel sets of office-bearers: one loyal to the father and the other to the son.
In April last year, Ramadoss removed Anbumani as president of the party and took charge himself while naming his son working president. In retaliation, Anbumani expelled his father and declared himself the legitimate leader. Anbumani convened a general council meeting on 8 August, asserting that he would remain president until internal elections in August 2026. It was the first major party meeting held without the founder. A month later, Ramadoss expelled his son from the primary membership of the party and appointed Sree Gandhi as working president.
According to the Election Commission of India, however, Anbumani is the recognised president of the PMK and Ramadoss is listed as an ordinary member. None of the recent announcements made by Ramadoss, including his daughter’s elevation, appear in the EC’s records. “The Election Commission has made a mistake,” says Ramadoss.
The Election Commission has informed the Delhi High Court that it cannot allot the PMK’s official symbol, the “mango”, to either the Anbumani faction or the Ramadoss faction during an ongoing election cycle. This clarification came after Ramadoss approached the court, alleging that the Anbumani group had misled the Commission by submitting incorrect documents. He maintains that the party remains with him.
The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M. M. Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, posted the petition filed by the PMK for further hearing after three weeks. When the petition came up for hearing, advocate K. Arul, appearing for Ramadoss, submitted that the Election Commission inadvertently sent a communication allotting the mango symbol to the address of former president Anbumani, who was not even a member of the party.
When senior counsel N. L. Rajah, appearing for Anbumani, attempted to make his submission, the Chief Justice said, "We will not hear you since you are not even a party to the litigation," according to a report by news agency PTI. Rajah said he will file an application for impleading in the case.
While this was the status, the EC did not choose to reply during the last month. When the matter came up for hearing before the Delhi High Court, the counsel for the EC, while arguing the matter in open court, said, "As there is a dispute with regard to the president position of the party by son and father of two factions, the ECI will freeze the mango symbol for the 2026 elections."
As such, to date, the EC has not sent a fresh communication to the present president, Ramadoss, at his office address, nor has it chosen to freeze the symbol.
