Sasikala Natarajan To Be Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, O Panneerselvam Steps Down
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam stepped down on Sunday, clearing decks for Sasikala Natarajan - the longtime companion of J Jayalalithaa, who became the party chief after her death -- to take over the reins of power in the state. At an internal meeting this afternoon, Ms Natarajan was elected the chief of AIADMK's legislature party, fulfilling the vociferous demands of a section of the party who contended that it was unwise to for the party and government to have different power centres in the state.
After the meeting, Ms Natarjan -- who had promised to follow in the footsteps of Jayalalithaa - appeared in front of supporters in a dark green sari, a colour greatly favoured by Jayalalithaa. The former Chief Minister had even worn the colour after the sweeping victory of the AIADMK in the last assembly elections.
Mr Panneerselvam, 65, who had stood in for Jayalalithaa twice earlier when she was arrested on charges of corruption, was made the Chief Minister after her death in December last year.
Ms Natarajan, 61, is not an elected member of the assembly and had never held any post in the party. Chinamma (mother's younger sister) as she is fondly called by supporters had taken charge of the party after a lot of coaxing from the partymen. After her acceptance of the top party post, there has been calls for Mr Panneerselvam to step down.
There were speculations that Ms Natarajan would take over as chief minister by the end of January, but the massive protests across the state over demanding the removal of a ban on Jallikattu -- the bull taming sport organised during the harvest festival of Pongal - had delayed it, sources had said.
But Ms Natarajan's takeover has been preceeded by a series of changes both in the government and the party. On Friday, a team of bureaucrats appointed by Ms Jayalalithaa had been shifted. Sheela Balakrishnan, who was appointed adviser to the Tamil Nadu government after she retired as chief secretary in 2014, was relieved of her duties on Friday. She was known to be close to Jayalalithaa and Sasikala. Two other secretaries to the Chief Minister, Venkataramanan and Ramalingam, who were part of Jayalalithaa's team, have also been relieved.
On Friday, Ms Natarajan also added 23 people to the existing 38 office bearers at the headquarters.
After the meeting, Ms Natarjan -- who had promised to follow in the footsteps of Jayalalithaa - appeared in front of supporters in a dark green sari, a colour greatly favoured by Jayalalithaa. The former Chief Minister had even worn the colour after the sweeping victory of the AIADMK in the last assembly elections.
Mr Panneerselvam, 65, who had stood in for Jayalalithaa twice earlier when she was arrested on charges of corruption, was made the Chief Minister after her death in December last year.
Ms Natarajan, 61, is not an elected member of the assembly and had never held any post in the party. Chinamma (mother's younger sister) as she is fondly called by supporters had taken charge of the party after a lot of coaxing from the partymen. After her acceptance of the top party post, there has been calls for Mr Panneerselvam to step down.
There were speculations that Ms Natarajan would take over as chief minister by the end of January, but the massive protests across the state over demanding the removal of a ban on Jallikattu -- the bull taming sport organised during the harvest festival of Pongal - had delayed it, sources had said.
But Ms Natarajan's takeover has been preceeded by a series of changes both in the government and the party. On Friday, a team of bureaucrats appointed by Ms Jayalalithaa had been shifted. Sheela Balakrishnan, who was appointed adviser to the Tamil Nadu government after she retired as chief secretary in 2014, was relieved of her duties on Friday. She was known to be close to Jayalalithaa and Sasikala. Two other secretaries to the Chief Minister, Venkataramanan and Ramalingam, who were part of Jayalalithaa's team, have also been relieved.
On Friday, Ms Natarajan also added 23 people to the existing 38 office bearers at the headquarters.
Thanks
NDTV
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