Edappadi Palanisamy set to become Tamil Nadu’s 7th Chief Minister

Edappady K Palanisamy, a loyalist of AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala, is set to become Tamil Nadu’s 7th chief minister on February 16. Palanisamy is expected to be sworn in as Chief Minister on Thursday, with Governor C Vidyasagar Rao ending the 10-day impasse over government formation by inviting him to form the government at the "earliest".

The AIADMK hailed the Governor’s decision and released his invitation to Palanisamy on its official Twitter handle.

The Governor had met Palanisamy on Thursday for the third time since February 14 when AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala was convicted by the Supreme Court in an assets case, dealing a body blow to her ambition of becoming Chief Minister. Palanisamy’s election as the AIADMK’s legislature party leader came at an emergency meeting of AIAIDMK MLAs called by Sasikala at a resort near Chennai within hours of the Supreme Court verdict. Palanisamy had sent a letter to Tamil Nadu governor C Vidyasagar Rao the same day to stake his claim to form ‘Amma's government’.

Palanisamy is a five-time MLA and the party's strongman from Salem district. He currently holds the portfolios of Highways, Public Works and Minor Ports in the caretaker government headed by O Paneerselvam. He held the same portfolios in late J Jayalalithaa’s cabinet as well.

Panneerselvam had raised a banner of revolt against Sasikala for allegedly forcing him to step down from chief ministership on February 7, two days after she was elected AIADMK Legislature Party Leader on February 5, paving the way for her to become Chief Minister. The Supreme Court judgment put paid to her plans of becoming CM, but not to her control over the party. It appears that Panneerselvam has been unable to muster anywhere near enough MLAs in support of his claim to continued Chief Ministership. This despite claims by many that AIADMK MLAs were being held against their will by Sasikala at the resort near Chennai. All hopes that once Sasikala was imprisoned, an exodus of AIADMK MLAs would rush to support Panneerselvam have come to nought. Panneerselvam and several other senior AIADMK leaders who supported him have been sacked from AIADMK's primary membership.

Palanisamy now has 15 days to prove that he has the support of at least 118 MLAs—the halfway mark in the 235-member Tamil Nadu assembly.

With inputs from NH National Bureau.