As the political tug of war continues in the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, party MP in Rajya Sabha V. Maitreyan said that caretaker chief minister O. Panneerselvam had the mass support. He also criticised party General Secretary V.K. Sasikala for taking the MLAs to an undisclosed location, just to keep them together ahead of a possible floor test in the Assembly.
Said Maitreyan to THE WEEK, “That shows Sasikala is not confident about her own MLAs. She does not have trust in them. She fears that they may act against her. Sasikala is highly insecure at the moment.”
When asked if Panneerselvam and he would form a new party, Maitreyan said, “We are the AIADMK. Wait for some time, the support for Panneerselvam will grow.”
Some AIADMK leaders, close to Sasikala, are now planning to meet President Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi to complain about Tamil Nadu Governor’s absence in the state, as they believe it could help Panneerselvam.
Panneerselvam, a staunch loyalist of late Jayalalithaa, had launched an open revolt against Sasikala on Tuesday saying that he was forced by the party chief to resign from the chief minister's post. He had also said that he would withdraw his resignation if party cadres wanted him to.
He dropped the bombshell at a time when vast arrangements were being made for the swearing-in of Sasikala as the chief minister.
