All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary VK Sasikala, a close aide of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, was on Sunday unanimously elected as legislature party leader, paving the way for her to become the next chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
Sasikala (61) will be sworn in as the 12th Chief Minister on February 9. She would be the third woman to lead the state, after Janaki Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa.
The move ended all speculation that there would be a delay in her taking over the reins of the government. Soon after Sasikala was elected as the party's general secretary in December last year following Jayalalithaa's death, there was a vociferous demand from a section of the party leaders that she be made the Chief Minister.
Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai was one of them and their argument was that if Sasikala doesn't become the Chief Minister, there would be two power centres, which would not bode well for the party and the state.
However, the Jallikattu uprising mellowed down the 'Sasikala-for-CM' chorus and some senior AIADMK leaders indicated that she might delay taking over as Chief Minister.
Though incumbent Chief Minister Panneerselvam himself proposed her name at Sunday's meeting, the move was not without its political overtone.
Pannerselvam's close rapport with the BJP leadership, which helped in amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act to hold Jallikattu, and his growing popularity seems to have forced the Sasikala camp to hurriedly take control of the government. Besides, DMK Deputy Opposition Leader Duraimurugan's assurance of full support to Panneerselvam in the Assembly also did not help the latter.
The MLAs' meeting commenced after an hour-long discussion between Sasikala and Panneerselvam, along with senior ministers, at the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, where Sasikala continues to live. Though she was not present when the legislators' meeting took place, Sasikala arrived there immediately after being elected as the legislature party leader.
The resolution was passed unanimously. Panneerselvam tweeted that he has resigned and Chinnamma (as Sasikala is fondly called by her supporters) would lead the state in the path shown by Amma (Jayalalithaa).
On her part, Sasikala thanked the Chief Minister. "Following the death of Amma, it was Panneerselvam who urged me first to take charge as general secretary, and again it was him who insisted that I become the Chief Minister," she said. She said that Jayalalithaa always trusted him.
If Sasikala is sworn in as Chief Minister, she needs to get elected to the Assembly within six months. AIADMK sources say that she might prefer a safer seat -- one dominated by her Thevar community in southern Tamil Nadu, rather than Jayalalithaa's RK Nagar constituency, which is vacant now.
After she was elected legislature party leader, Sasikala appeared on the balcony of the party headquarters to greet supporters with folded hands in a dark green sari, the colour often worn by Jayalalithaa. Assuring to follow in the footsteps of her mentor, Sasikala told party legislators that the AIADMK government would continue to work for the welfare of the people.
Sasikala's elevation comes amid a series of changes in the party and the government. On Friday, she assigned party posts to 23 senior leaders, including nine former ministers. Three top bureaucrats, including former chief secretary Sheela Balakrishnan, who were part of Jayalalithaa's team. were relieved of their duties from the chief minister's office.
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