The MLA from Mylapore constituency and former Tamil Nadu director general of police R Nataraj on Friday told Scroll.in that he will vote against Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at the Assembly floor test on Saturday. Palaniswami was made chief minister on Thursday, after the Supreme Court had convicted All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief VK Sasikala in a disproportionate assets case.
Nataraj said he will vote against the motion of confidence, which will be introduced in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Saturday. “I will vote reflecting the will of the people and the collective desire of the party men that the AIADMK must remain united,” he said.
Palaniswami will have to prove his majority in the Assembly at the trust vote on Saturday morning. He was sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Thursday along with 31 state Cabinet ministers, more than 10 days after ousted leader O Panneerselvam had resigned from the post and later requested Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to allow him to withdraw his resignation.
The Edapaddi MLA is likely to visit Sasikala, who is lodged in Bengaluru’s Pagrahara Agrahara jail. She will serve around four years in prison. The political crisis in Tamil Nadu escalated after Sasikala was elected the leader of the legislature party and staked claim to the chief minister’s post to form government. Palaniswami was voted the legislature party leader after conviction, after which he approached the governor to form government.
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