In an effort to find an amicable solution to the present stalemate in Tamil Nadu, Governor Vidyasagar Rao held meetings with new legislative Party leader Edappadi Palanisamy and Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Wednesday evening. According to senior leaders in the warring AIADMK camps, the political uncertainty in TN may come to an end in the next two days.
Fisheries Minister K Jayakumar, who accompanied Palanisamy to Raj Bhavan, told reporters after the meeting with Governor Rao that the Sasikala camp has the support of 124 members. “We told the Governor about the MlAs who are supporting us. It is for him to take the decision now,” said Jayakumar.
Panneerselvam too called on the Governor at 8.45 pm. It is not known what transpired in the meeting between the Chief Minister and the Governor. No communication was issued by the Raj Bhavan at the time of going to press. The possibility of Panneerselvam cobbling up the support of 118 MlAs, the number of MlAs needed to form the Government, remained remote as no party legislators called on him on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the DMK, the principal Opposition party upped the ante and warned that the State was moving towards a mid-term election. “The Panneerselvam Government is only an interim arrangement. Tamil Nadu is soon going to have an Assembly election, maybe by June or July of this year,” said MK Stalin, DMK working president, while addressing party workers at Coimbatore.
There were dramatic and shocking developments in the AIADMK camp led by general secretary VK Sasikala, whose conviction in the disproportionate assets case by the Bangalore Special Court in September 2014, was restored by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Before leaving Chennai for Bengaluru to surrender before the Special Court on Wednesday morning, Sasikala appointed TTV Dinakaran, her nephew, as the deputy general secretary of the party, a post hitherto unheard of in the AIADMK. Dinakaran had been ousted from the party in 2011 by then general secretary Jayalalithaa for anti-party activities.
Sasikala also re-admitted another nephew Venkatesh on Wednesday morning.
With this move, Sasikala has ensured that the AIADMK remains in the control of the Mannargudi clan.
The appointment of Dinakaran, who was convicted by the Madras High Court last month and slapped a fine of Rs25 crore in a FERA violation case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, had its instant fallout. V Karuppasamy Pandian, the AIADMK’s southern strongman and the organising secretary, quit the party and joined the Panneerselvam camp. “The AIADMK has been completely hijacked by the family of Sasikala. It has become a family enterprise,” said Pandian.
E Madhusudanan, who was ousted by Sasikala as presidium chairman scoffed at the elevation of Dinakaran and said it was against the rules set by party founder MG Ramachandran.
“Only persons who have been members of the party for five continuous years can hold any post in the party,” said Madhusudanan. Dinakaran’s appointment is seen as Sasikala’s strategy to keep Palanisamy under control.
In another development, women MlAs of the AIADMK who are staying at the beach resort at Koovathur, denied reports that they were in captivity. Following the inspection by Chenthamaraikannan, IG, Kancheepuram of the resort, the MlAs came out of the resort, met reporters and told them that they were staying on their own and were waiting for the Assembly session for the trust vote.