Sources have stated that AIADMK interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala on Tuesday moved to prevent Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam from capitalizing on his popularity by ensuring that Edappadi K. Palaniswami was elected leader of the AIADMK Legislature Party.
However, Mr. Panneerselvam, who is still seeking an opportunity to prove his majority in the House, in a counter move dramatically, secured the support of Jayalalitha’s niece Deepa Jayakumar, who has been drawing fair crowds of AIADMK sympathisers since the former Chief Minister’s death. Mr. Panneerselvam and Ms. Deepa symbolically met at the Jayalalitha Memorial on the Marina on Tuesday night and paid homage to her. Ms. Deepa declared.
Previously, Mr. Panneerselvam appealed to party legislators
to interact with people in their constituencies and act as per their wishes in
backing the right faction. Commenting on Ms. Sasikala’s strategy, R. Kannan,
who is working on a biography of AIADMK founder MGR, said, “The attitude seems
to be that even if I lose one eye, my rival should lose both. I think the
present situation will lead to another election as the floor test might throw
up unpleasant surprises for both sides, going by past history.
