Five MPs of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam extended their support to Tamil Nadu acting chief minister O Panneerselvam on Sunday. R Lakshmanan, B Senguttuvan, J Jeyasingh, PR Sundaram and Ashok Kumar vowed to back Panneerselvam’s claim to the post against party General Secretary VK Sasikala.
“All ministers and MLAs will come and join me one by one. Justice will prevail,” Panneerselvam had said on Saturday.
Former MP Ramarajan and senior AIADMK leader and former state minister P Vijayalakshmi Palanisamy also joined his camp. “O Panneerselvam is our leader now. He is following the path of MG Ramachandran,” Ramarajan said.
After declaring support for Panneerselvam, R Lakshmanan was expelled from the post of the party’s Vizhipuram North district secretary. CV Shanmugham was given the position.
On Saturday, Panneerselvam got the support of Tamil Nadu’s Education Minister Mafoi Pandiarajan as well as founding member of the AIADMK and former finance minister C Ponnaiyan. “In the interest of the unity of AIADMK, I have decided to join OPS. Every MLA wishes that AIADMK stays together, so I invite all of them to join us,” Pandiarajan had said.
While support for Panneerselvam appears to be growing, Sasikala on Saturday submitted a letter to Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, seeking an appointment to prove that she had the majority support of her party MLAs. She said since it had been “seven long days” since Panneerselvam had submitted his resignation, which was accepted, she would like an appointment to prove her majority. Sasikala also noted the “urgency of the situation at hand”.
Sasikala had also visited the resort in Mahabalipuram where around 130 of the party’s legislators had been sequestered, to prevent them from switching camps. On Friday, the governor had asked the police to look into allegations that the MLAs were being held against their will.
The impasse between Sasikala and Panneerselvam has left Tamil Nadu politics in turmoil. The rift became evident after Panneerselvam, on February 7, had said he had been forced to resign as chief minister. He said his camp was prepared to respond to any allegations levelled by Sasikala and her supporters. Though Sasikala had claimed that she enjoyed the support of a majority of AIADMK legislators, Panneerselvam had said that several legislators were on his side and that he could prove his strength in the state Assembly.
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