For a man who seemed ever ready to genuflect, it must have taken something to stand up and be taken note of.
O Panneerselvam, the die-hard party loyalist, who stood in as Chief Minister twice when J Jayalalithaa had to step down, did the unthinkable and the unexpected last week when he spoke up against the all-powerful Sasikala and raised a banner of revolt against Jayalalithaa’s surrogate sister, aide and confidante. It was the biggest political gamble that Panneerselvam was going to take in his life.
Just two days prior to coming out against Sasikala, Panneerselvam, who was sworn in Chief Minister for the third time after the death of Jayalalithaa, had resigned citing personal reasons, and Sasikala was declared elected unanimously as the AIADMK’s Legislature Party leader. Many thought that her swearing in was a mere formality and there was even speculation on who would hold what portfolio in her cabinet. It did not matter that there was the Sword of Damocles in the form of the Supreme Court verdict on a corruption case hanging over Sasikala’s neck.
Political observers and even the general public in the State felt Sasikala was acting in undue haste in, first, getting elected the party general secretary and then as leader of the AIADMK legislature party, thus paving the way for her to become chief minister. Even before all this, she had even begun modelling herself on the lines of Jayalalithaa in terms of dressing and mannerisms.
Now, with the Supreme Court upholding her conviction by a trial court in Karnataka and thus making her ineligible to hold a post of public office for 10 years, it seems Panneerselvam’s gamble has paid off.
Even while she had staked her claim to form the Government and was waiting for a call from the State’s acting Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to be sworn in chief minister, Sasikala had herded the MLAs to a resort outside Chennai, on the East Coast Road. Panneerselvam, on the other hand, had been working slowly to win over his colleagues and a few of them, including the Chairman of the Party presidium E Madhusudhoonan and former Minister C Ponnaiyan, and a handful of ministers, had joined him.
The Governor met both Panneerselvam and Sasikala separately last week, but did not reveal his mind. He had consulted legal opinion and was obviously aware that the Supreme Court verdict was due any time and did not want to risk opprobrium later if the verdict went against Sasikala and the other accused in the corruption case. The Sasikala camp, meanwhile, was getting edgy and even held out veiled threats that they could not be patient any longer.
After the verdict, Panneerselvam issued a three-page statement listing out why he did what he did and appealing to his fellow MLAs and others in the party to bury the hatchet, come together again and run the Government to carry on the good work of their beloved departed leader “Amma”.
However, the political uncertainty as far as the State is far from over with news filtering out from the resort where the MLAs loyal to Sasikala were staying that Highways and Public Works Minister K Palaniswami, supposed to be a Sasikala loyalist, had been elected leader of the AIADMK Legislature Party and that he would stake his claim to form the government. Will Panneerselvam accept this decision or will he challenge it remains to be seen.
One thing that is clear is that there will be no more bowing and scraping, of ministers and MLAs. They bowed and scraped and fell at Jayalalithaa’s feet and did that to Sasikala too after she took over the party reins.