Edapadi K Palanisamy is Sashikala choice for CM
CHENNAI:Following the Supreme Court verdict in the disproportionate assets case, Highways and Minor Ports Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy has been elected as the AIADMK legislature party leader at the meeting of MLAs held at Koovathur, in the presence of party general secretary Sasikala.
In another development, she has expelled Chief Minister O Panneerselvam from the primary membership of the party.Palanisamy and senior leaders will be seeking an appointment with the Governor to stake claim to forming the next government.
With VK Sasikala convicted for corruption, Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao must now move to end the political crisis in the state over who should be Chief Minister, said constitutional experts today.
With the Supreme Court today sentencing Ms Sasikala to jail for four years, the verdict also barring her from running for election for 10 years, her party has named minister Edapadi K Palanisamy as its new leader. He says he will now meet with the Governor to ask for the right to take a trust vote.
The competition for the state’s top job erupted a week ago, the delayed result of the death of J Jayalalithaa in December while she was still Chief Minister, and an unlikely revolt by the man who was so loyal to her that he sobbed openly on two occasions when he had to stand in for her while she confronted grave charges of venality.
O Panneerselvam, 67, announced that unlike on those occasions, he would not conform to party orders to enable the promotion of Ms Sasikala, who has never contested an election, as Chief Minister. This pushback, he said, was urged by “the spirit of Amma (Jayalalithaa)” who appeared before him. Today, he was expelled from the AIADMK, even as he wrote to the party to urge that it stay together.
Ms Sasikala, backed by about all but 10 of her party’s state legislators, had asked the Governor to let her take a trust vote. Mr Panneerselvam, who had resigned before his mutiny, put in a formal request for the same.
The Governor sought counsel from experts, as both sides waited. It has been six days since the competing claims were filed – enough of a window for Mr Panneerselvam to keep chipping away at his rival’s bloc of 125 legislators, assimilated in a luxury resort named Golden Bay for several nights to prevent defection.
Experts say it is incumbent upon the Governor to order a gathering urgently of all 234 Tamil Nadu legislators. Then, a floor test must follow to determine who has the majority.
According to Constitutional expert PP Rao – that the assembly must first elect what the majority will be- that is, which party is the biggest. Then, the leader of that faction, having won the vote, should be made Chief Minister. To facilitate this, he said, it is Mr Panneerselvam, as interim Chief Minister, who must call the session.
Yesterday, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, as the Centre’s top lawyer, advised the Governor that because they were competing claims from within the same party for Chief Minister, he should order a composite floor test- which means that all legislators would have to sign their names and vote for either Ms Sasikala or Mr Panneerselvam.
