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Top Union Ministers were on high alert after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday night, with political stability and the maintenance of law and order being the Centre’s immediate priorities.
Although Tamil Nadu made no formal request for central forces, even as tense crowds milled outside the hospital where the Chief Minister was being treated, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh worked the phones on Sunday night and through the day on Monday.
Governor reaches Chennai He spoke to Tamil Nadu’s Acting Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, who reached Chennai from Mumbai to monitor the developing situation.
In Parliament, the Tamil Nadu CM’s critical health was the sole subject of discussion, with the political consensus being that maintaining status quo in the State government should be the highest priority at the moment.
Senior Minister M Venkaiah Naidu was asked to reach Chennai and keep a watch over the situation. While Naidu met the hospital authorities and spoke to senior leaders of Jayalalithaa’s ruling AIADMK, BJP sources said both politically and administratively, the effort in the next coming days would be help ensure continuity and stability in the State government.
“Already, agitated supporters and admirers of the Chief Minister are gathered in large numbers outside the hospital. The Centre is coordinating with the State government to ensure peace and keep calm,” said a BJP source.
Leadership crisis The AIADMK faces a leadership vacuum given the failing health of its supreme leader, with no one even remotely suitable to fill her shoes.
The Opposition DMK may well take advantage of the ruling party’s vulnerability. At the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai, MLAs were huddled together till late on Monday to assess the extraordinary situation they face: at the time of the demise of MG Ramachandran in 1987, the charismatic Jayalalithaa was already a rising figure in the party hierarchy.
O Paneerselvam, who has been officiating so far, is still believed to be the most favoured candidate of the AIADMK legislature party and the Centre. However, no public statement was forthcoming from both parties.
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