Former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s close aide, Sasikala Natarajan who was elected as the legislature party leader of AIADMK on February 5 is all set to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on February 7. With this, Sasikala Natarajan will replace O Panneerselvam who took after the demise of Jayalalithaa.
According to reports, the swearing in ceremony will take place at 9 am in Madras University Hall. It must be noted that Jayalalithaa had also taken oath as the Chief Minister of the state in the same hall.
Tamil Nadu Governor Vidhya Sagar Rao on February 6 accepted the resignation of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam a day after he put his papers down. The governor asserted that his resignation had been accepted and has requested Panneerselvam to continue till the further arrangements are made. The AIADMK announced that O Panneerselvam proposed the name of “Chinnamma”, Sasikala Natarajan as the leader of AIADMK Legislature Party Leader.
Meanwhile, her sudden elevation has invited criticism from several quarters with the opposition party claiming that she was not appointed by the people of the state.
Earlier on December 29, the ruling AIADMK passed a resolution to appoint Sasikala as the party’s General Secretary. The council also passed a resolution condoling the death of Jayalalithaa and several other resolutions. Following her appointment, some party leaders had also urged Sasikala to contest from R.K. Nagar constituency and become the Chief Minister.
Sasikala, who was once sacked from AIADMK’s primary membership by Jayalalithaa for anti party activities, is leading the AIADMK, the second largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha with 37 members. The party also has 13 members in Rajya Sabanti-party.
Miffed with Sasikala’s appointment, late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s niece J. Deepa on January 17 announced her decision of joining politics and had said that she wasn’t sure whether she will join the AIADMK or float a new party.
