O Panneerselvam elected by AIADMK MLAs to be the next CM as Jayalalithaa spends a night in jail

Chennai, September 28: Tamil Nadu is all set to get a new Chief Minister who will play the role of proxy CM for the second time in his life. O Panneerselvam has been elected by the AIADMK Legislature Party to be the next Chief Minister in place of Jayalalithaa who is currently jailed in the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bangalore. This is the second time he has been chosen to perform a similar role.

One MLA who did not wish to be identified told The Citizen that OPS has been selected by Jayalalithaa and therefore elected by the MLAs.

Sources also said that the swearing in ceremony of the new Chief Minister is likely to be held on Monday or Tuesday.

A whip was issued on Sunday morning asking all AIADMK MLAs who were camping in Bangalore to be present in Chennai by 3pm. By 3.30pm, the gathering had assembled and a vote was taken.

Political analysts say the succession will be smooth. “AIADMK will not lose power as they have a majority so they need a proxy ruler,” said political observer Gnani. “Jayalalithaa cannot contest elections but she will control the party once she is outside prison. The party needs her and she needs the party,” he said.

Since Saturday afternoon, Tamil Nadu is headless. With a Bangalore special court handing down a conviction, a four-year-stint in prison as well as slapping a Rs 100 crore fine on the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the 2013 Supreme Court ruling on the Representation of People’s Act kicked in. Jayalalithaa, MLA of Srirangam constituency was automatically disqualified, thereby losing the Chief Minister’s post. Tamil Nadu governor Rosaiah is now the boss, as per the Constitution, acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Constitutional expert Arvind Dattar said there would be no confusion as far as the state government is concerned. “There is no need for the Governor to impose President’s Rule as there is no breakdown of Constitutional machinery,” he said. “AIADMK has anyway got a simple majority so the transition will be smooth.”

Rival parties though are not willing to back down without some shoving. DMK Chief M Karunanidhi wrote to the President, the PMO and the Home Ministry late Saturdaynight asking for intervention by the Centre. “AIADMK cadres are indulging in large scale violence and the Police are silent spectators to these lawless acts of their partymen… Under these circumstances, I request your good-self to intervene and take appropriate measures forthwith to restore the Law and Order and to ensure public peace, tranquility and safety to the citizens and to their properties in the State of Tamil Nadu,” said the letter.

Opposition leader and DMDK chief Vijaykanth too met the Governor along with a posse of MLAs and submitted a petition that said the law and order situation in the state was precarious.

Who is OPS?

Current Finance Minister of the state, O Panneerselvam, is a tried and tested Amma loyalist, having already stepped into her shoes when Jayalalithaa had to resign Chief Ministership in 2001.

“OPS is a thorough loyalist, so he is the best bet for Amma,” said a senior AIADMK leader who did not want to be named. “Remember, in 2001, when Amma was convicted in the TANSI case, it was OPS who took over as CM. He refused to sit in the Chief Minister’s chair, saying that he was only safekeeping the post for Amma, and he used to sit in another chair on the side. Amma knows all this and his unstinting loyalty to her is on his side,” he said.

63-year-old OPS is a seasoned politician hailing from Periyakulam in Theni district who was a tea-shop owner and farmer in his native village before being plucked from political oblivion and made the PWD minister in 2001 by Jayalalithaa.

Advantage DMK and BJP?

Observers say political equations are all set to change in Tamil Nadu with this crushing verdict against the AIADMK chief. “This verdict is a gift for Opposition parties as they can now hound the AIADMK with this case,” said Gnani. “The DMK will gain a lot but not the rest of the parties. The BJP will try to cash in on this and say that we are the alternative, but BJP will not make much of a gain since they are very weak in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Tamil Nadu BJP President Tamilisai Soundararajan, however, is confident that this verdict creates a space for the BJP to make gains. “The verdict itself may not help,” she said. “But what it will do is it will create a level playing field for all parties. Dravidian parties have been accumulating wealth and bribing voters, which is why national parties like ours have lost out all these years. Leaders of both Dravidian parties, the DMK and the AIADMK and Congress too are entangled in corruption cases. Today’s youth is intolerant of corruption and there is no choice for them in Tamil Nadu other than the BJP,” she said.

DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan admitted that the verdict would help the DMK. “But we will not ask for dissolution of the Assembly right now,” he said.