CHENNAI: The ruling AIADMK today chose party general secretary V K Sasikala as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She will be replacing O Panneerselvam, who took over on December 6 after former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's death on December 5.
The decision to make Sasikala the new chief minister was taken at a meeting of party MLAs in Chennai today.
At the meeting of the party legislators, it was Panneerselvam who proposed Sasikala's name as chief minister, which was welcomed with applause. Panneerselvam informed the party MLAs that he had tendered his resignation as chief minister, and that it was being sent to the State Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao.
Incidentally, Rao, for whom Tamil Nadu is an additional charge besides Maharashtra, is in Coimbatore today to attend a function. But he is scheduled to leave for Delhi to take part in Union minister Prakash Javadekar's son's marriage reception. It's not yet known whether the governor will reschedule his itinerary after the latest development.
Addressing the MLAs, Sasikala said it was Panneerselvam who first requested her to take over after former Chief Minister and party general secretary J Jayalalithaa died after prolonged illness in December last year. The government will work for the welfare of the people in the path that Jayalalitha had paved, she added.
Party sources said she is likely to take over on February 7.
Though a clear picture is yet to emerge, sources said Panneerselvam will be accommodated as the deputy chief minister. The names that are making the rounds as hopefuls for Sasikala's cabinet include KA Sengottaiyan and Senthil Balaji, who were sidelined by Jayalalithaa in the recent past.