Panneerselvam is a relieved man

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha’s staunch loyalist O Panneerselvam, who was under attack from the opposition over poor governance, will heave a sigh of relief after his party chief was acquitted by the Karnataka High Court.

Panneerselvam took oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu two days after Jayalalitha stepped down from office following her conviction in Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case. He also did not change any of the portfolios, keeping home, public and finance ministries with himself.

Similar situation was witnessed in 2001 when Jayalalitha had taken everyone by surprise by handpicking Panneerselvam to take up her job when she had to step down due to her conviction in TANSI land scam. Even during the second stint as the Chief Minister, he chose not to function from the chamber from where Jayalalitha discharged her official duty as chief minister.

Even in the Assembly, Panneerselvam avoided using the chief minister’s seat. Instead, he sat with his Cabinet colleagues. The seat marked for the chief minister was left vacant without a name tag.

However, after the opposition targeted him and raised questions about the vacant seat repeatedly, Panneerselvam occupied the chief minister’s seat during the previous Assembly session.

Since he took over as the Chief Minister, Panneerselvam, who avoids media, was accused by all the Opposition parties, including the DMK, Congress and the DMDK, of poor governance.