Sasikala loses prominent faces, TN tussle continues
CHENNAI: A make-or-break showdown lay ahead for Tamil Nadu as AIADMK leader VK Sasikala alleged on Saturday that the delay in making her the chief minister was a deliberate design to split the party.
The longtime confidante of former chief minister and party supremo, the late J Jayalalithaa, is awaiting the governor’s response to end the political stalemate after she allegedly forced O Panneerselvam to resign from the top post in the southern state.
“We have waited long, we will approach this differently tomorrow,” she said, a remark that appeared to be a veiled threat as well as an indication that patience is running thin.
Governor C Vidyasagar Rao is yet to take a decision and speculation swirled that he might not invite Sasikala to form the government till the Supreme Court pronounced a verdict in a corruption case against her.
The delay is breeding impatience as she struggled to retain her flock, other than the 100plus party legislators she had corralled into a luxury resort to stop them from switching loyalties. But anxiety was mounting as more leaders crossed sides to acting chief minister Panneerselvam’s camp.
She was building up her charge about a deliberate attempt to delay her swearingin through the day.
Sasikala asked her supporters in the afternoon to remain calm, but “only to some extent we can be patient … after that we all together would do what needs to be done”.
Prior to that, she wrote a letter to the governor.
“It’s been seven days since Panneerselvam resigned. Taking the urgency of the situation, I would like to seek an appointment with Your Excellency by today with all MLAs who extended their support to me regarding further course of action to form the government,” the letter reads.