AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala, who was on Sunday elected as the Legislature Party leader, may have the backing of the party’s senior leaders, MLAs and MPs. However, there is growing resentment among long-time party loyalists, Opposition parties and the common man, especially the younger generation, against her taking over as Chief Minister.

Social media has been flooded with posts and comments against Sasikala becoming the Chief Minister. Twitter handles —#RIPTN and #RIPTamilnadu — have been trending ever since Sasikala was elected as Legislature Party leader. On Sunday, a petition —Dissolve TN govt and Stop Sasikala from becoming Tamil Nadu CM !! — by an online platform Change.org on Facebook against Sasikala started circulating at a rapid pace. Already, over 60,000 people have signed the petition to be submitted to the Governor.

The petition wanted O Pannersevam, who quit as Chief Minister, to continue or the government dissolved and fresh elections be held.

Among other things, the petition said Sasikala had no administrative experience and that she was facing numerous court cases. It also said things would be better for the State with Paneerselvam as Chief Minister as he actively coordinated during the Jallikatu protests.

Opposition party leaders too have strongly reacted to Sasikala becoming Chief Minister. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram in tweet messages said, “It is the right of the AIADMK MLAs to elect their leader. It is the right of the people to ask if the leader deserves to be Chief Minister. Looking back with pride, TN CM chair was occupied by Kamaraj and Anna. AIADMK and people of Tamil Nadu are now moving in opposite directions.”

DMK’s working president MK Stalin said people of the State did not vote for anyone from Jayalalithaa’s ‘household’ be the Chief Minister. However, AIADMK leaders hit back against the opponents saying it was the party’s internal matter. Anybody can become a leader with the backing of MLAs, said a party leader.

Jaya’s neice Sasikala could potentially also face a challenge from Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar, who claimed that she was the real successor of the late chief minister. Since Jayalalithaa’s death on December 5, there has been a stream of visitors to Deepa’s house in Chennai urging her to enter politics.

Muted celebrations Celebrations have been muted ever since the announcement that Sasikala would head the Legislature Party and consequently become Chief Minister. “This itself shows the poor support that Sasikala commands in the party,” said Sampath of Triplicane.

Those opposed to Sasikala becoming the Chief Minister argue that she does not have any political background. She was a long-time friend of former party general secretary J Jayalalithaa, but that does not mean that she is capable of leading the State, says Masilamani, a resident of Tiruvanamalai and an ardent supporter of AIADMK. However, he is considering shifting loyalty to the opposition.

“We are worried that the party will split sooner than expected. A lot of party supporters are not showing any interest in party work nowadays,” says Lalitha, a maid in Velachery, and a strong supporter of Jayalalithaa.

Venkat Raghav, a retired government employee, feels that Deepa could be a better alternative given her background in political science and calm demeanour. But there are many who feel DMK could be a better alternative. Krishnan S, an IT professional, feels that given the situation today there is a need for an alternative within AIADMK itself. The sentiment that has remained constant since the announcement was that Sasikala was not the people’s choice. In the social media platform twitter #NotMyCM and ‘RIPTN’ were trending on Sunday reflecting people’s sentiment. Tweets like ‘It is a black day for Tamil Nadu’, ‘Backstabbing TN’, ‘Shadow, secretary and now CM’ and ‘Time to head Marina again’ began to flood the social media platform.

Supreme Court With the Supreme Court likely to deliver its judgment in the disproportionate assets case involving late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her confidante Sasikala, next week, it remains to be seen whether the latter will go ahead and take over as Chief Minister with speculation being that she may take over this week.

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