As Tamil Nadu heads into a situation of confusion and political churn, all eyes are on Governor Vidyasagar Rao to see what his next move will be as he met both the warring factions.
Sasikala may have money or MLA power, but it falls apart if she is found guilty in the upcoming Supreme Court verdict in the 19-year-old Disproportionate Assets case . OPanneer Selvam gains from this possibility as the MLAs will gravitate towards power.
For Sasikala, the best-case scenario is that if she is exonerated and sworn in. The best scenario for OPS would be for the governor to ask him to prove his numbers if Sasikala is convicted.
“It was the same case even in 1985. Janaki the MGR’s wife had all the MLAs while Jayalalithaa had around three. She had no government but the people were with her. The entire party machinery is with Sasikala. But it doesn’t take too much time to change. MLAs are fickle beings; they are not used to rebelling. Suddenly OPS has become the hero. There has been no dissent only because of this military discipline. Once MLAs realise OPS might get a chance, they will easily jump ship there is no doubt.
Panneerselvam stated at the Marina Beach that his signature on the letter of resignation was coerced and given under duress. But he can again ask the Governor to call for him to be appointed as CM if he has a majority of his own.
“Whatever happens, Sasikala cannot claim to be appointed under Article 164(4) of the Constitution without being an MLA. It is not an omnibus clause to be used whenever; it can only be used with-out intervening circumstance. In the case of 2001, Jayalalithaa was installed by then Governor Fathima Beevi, without being an MLA. But the courts said that Jaya cannot get appointed as CM when she cannot contest an election due to pending cases. It is not justifiable under public support,” said a senior advocate in Chennai.
If there is an appeal pending against a case which is likely to be announced shortly, she will not be in a place to seek position in a ministry without being an elected member. She cannot say she is superior to senior MLAs unless she has climbed the political ladder for years.
She can never appoint herself as leader of the legislature party. It applies only to a member of the house. She is neither in Parliament nor Assembly.
She has been appointed as interim general secretary. The bylaws of the AIADMK do not provide for that. There is one general secretary elected by all members. The secretary who was previously appointed is in a committee to manage an interim secretary; there is only a provision for a commit-tee, as argued by Manoj Pandian, senior lawyer and leader of the AIADMK.
