January 4, 2017
Chennai: The new chief of AIADMK, Sasikala Natarajan, will not be the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Rather, the division of power between her and Chief Minister O Panneerselvam will be somewhat similar to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a minister from the state told NDTV.
January 4, 2017
Chennai: The new chief of AIADMK, Sasikala Natarajan, will not be the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Rather, the division of power between her and Chief Minister O Panneerselvam will be somewhat similar to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a minister from the state told NDTV.
The comment from Ma Foi Pandiarajan came as a chorus has started demanding that Ms. Sasikala take over as the Chief Minister of the state.
On Monday, AIADMK lawmaker and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai appealed to the new AIADMK General Secretary to head the Tamil Nadu government as well. The party, he said, would "lose credibility" unless the two posts are occupied by the same person.
His argument that to make a good showing in the general elections the AIADMK must deliver on the promises of J Jayalalithaa, who died as Chief Minister last month, has got a lot of support from the partymen.
VA Pugazhendi, AIADMK secretary in Karnataka, is hopeful that Sasikala would become the Chief Minister before Republic Day. The new party chief, who had been a longtime friend and companion of Jayalalithaa and carried out the last rites for her, had accepted the post after much pleading from the party leaders.
At the party headquarters, many workers joined the chorus for a Chief Ministership for Sasikala. Chinnamma, as Sasikala is known, meaning "mother's little sister" is the "only one who can save the party, nobody else".
But not everyone agrees. Rani, a Jayalalithaa supporter, said after Jayalalithaa's death only her loyalist Mr. Panneerselvam can step into her shoes. "Only he had enjoyed Jayalalithaa's confidence," she said.
Mr. Panneerselvam, who had stood in twice for Jayalalithaa when she had been arrested for corruption charges, is yet to comment on the matter.
Courtesy: NDTV
