Election to top post was not a hurried affair

 AIADMK General Secretary Sasikala’s selection as chief minister was not a hurried affair.

The former Jaya aide had to wait for the Jallikattu stir to die down.
Sasikala was to be elected leader of the legislative party in the first week of January, soon after Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai released a letter on his official letterhead on January 2 asking her to become the leader of the party and the government.

Jallikattu and raid

“Our Annan (older brother) Panneerselvam was about to resign for Chinnamma (Sasikala) in the first week of January. But Jallikattu protests and the I-T raid on former chief secretary’s house had delayed the process of her taking over,” a senior AIADMK leader said.

He said Sasikala held discussions with every senior functionary of the party.
Citing the power struggle between Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, AIADMK leaders have been vocal in their demand that the control of the party and the government should be with a single person.

Sasikala’s taking over as the chief minister became evident when she brought back several former ministers sidelined by Jayalalithaa to key party positions in a revamp on Friday.

Yet another short stint for Panneerselvam

It was another “small stint” as chief minister of Tamil Nadu for O Panneerselvam as the AIADMK leader had to resign from the top post for the third time.

The first ‘short period’ was when Panneerselvam took over from Jayalalithaa in 2001 –over Tansi land deal case – which lasted only six months. The second term was when he held the office in 2014 when Jayalalithaa was convicted in the disproportionate assets case.