Tamil Nadu crisis LIVE updates: Palanisamy gets invite to form govt, Panneerselvam camp to move EC
E Palanisamy, VK Sasikala’s loyalist and nomination for Tamil Nadu chief minister, has been invited by Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to form government. He is likely to be sworn in as chief minister today itself. He will have 15 days to prove his strength in the floor of the House. The AIADMK had earlier in the day confirmed the development, claiming it to be a victory.
Palanisamy was elected leader of AIADMK’s legislative party by the Sasikala faction the day the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Sasikala in a disproportionate assets case.
Here are the LIVE updates:
12.50 pm: Reports coming in that Palanisamy may not wait that long to prove majority in the House. He reportedly told the Governor that he is ready to prove his majority immediately. This could well mean that minutes after swearing-in, he could parade his MLAs before the Governor and thereby prove his majority. But the wording of the statement says that he has to “see the vote of confidence of the assembly within fifteen days”.
12.40 pm: So we have the first reaction from the O Panneerselvam camp. AIADMK MP V Maitreyan is likely to meet Election Commission officials in New Delhi at 2.45 pm today. Is he hopeful of the EC ordering some form of a stay?
12. 30 pm: Not just at Raj Bhawan, celebrations have also begun outside Golden Bay resort, the temporary headquarters of the Sasikala camp. Supporters of the faction have gathered and are raising slogans against O Panneerselvam.
12.25 pm: Celebrations break out outside Raj Bhawan in Chennai. The Sasikala camp is confident of winning the trust vote. But don’t forget, OPS has 15 days to speak to MLAs that are currently locked in at the Golden Bay resort.
12.20 pm: The swearing-in ceremony is likely to take place at 4 pm today, but we are still awaiting an official confirmation from Raj Bhawan. In any case, this could we bring an end to the political turmoil that Tamil Nadu has seen for the last few weeks.
12.10 pm: BREAKING – Tamil Nadu Governor invites Edappadi K Palanisamy of Sasikala faction to form government, he has 15 days time to prove majority.
12.00 pm: While we wait for Palanisamy to emerge out of his meeting with Governor Rao and address a press conference, here’s a quick poll you could take.
11.55 am: “We have 124 MLAs. They [Mr. Panneerselvam’s camp] have only 8 MLAs. Is 8 big or is 124? Think about it,” Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar told The Hindu.
11.50 am: Reports suggest that the Governor could administer oath to Palanisamy today and then give him a few days to prove his majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. There’s no confirmation yet on whether it will be a three-day period or a couple of weeks.
11.45 am: Can Deepa Jayakumar swing it in favour of Panneerselvam? A senior AIADMK leader told IANS: “With Deepa Jayakumar joining hands with Panneerselvam, the strength of our camp has increased manifold and there is no patch up moves.” Deepa Jayakumar, the niece of former chief minister late J Jayalalithaa, was opposed to Sasikala.
11.40 am: Nominated MP and BJP member Subramanian Swamy claims he will stop focussing on Tamil Nadu politics once Palanisamy is invited to form government. In a tweet, he said: “As soon as this TN drama is over I will forget TN and go back to Ram Temple and sending some more people to jail for corruption.”
11.35 am: Accompanying Palanisamy are cabinet minister Jayakumar, AIADMK presidium chairman, K A Sengottaiyan, deputy general secretary T T V Dinakaran, S P Velumani, and K P Anbazhagan.
11.30 am: Palanisamy arrives at Raj Bhavan.
11.25 am: News agency ANI, quoting the Governor’s office, says a five-member team led by Palanisamy will be meeting Vidyasagar Rao at 11.30 am.
11.20 am: How did Sasikala spend her night in Bengaluru Central Jail? Kaithi No. 9234 spent the first night sleeping on the floor of the cell. She had asked for a metal cot and a mattress among other demands. For breakfast, she had tamarind rice. Read more about it here.
11.15 am: The OPS camp maintains that they have the ‘popular support’. Panneerselvam maintains that he was forced to resign from his post, urging party MLAs to unite as he was the only one who was appointed by Jayalalithaa to take over the government in her absence. The OPS camp has about 11 MLAs and is hopeful that some more from the Sasikala camp will jump to their side once they are ‘freed’ from Golden Bay resort.
11.10 am: Much depends on what the Governor has to say at the meeting. If he invites Palanisamy to form government, but first prove his majority in the House, then it will spell trouble for Panneerselvam. If the AIADMK issues a whip, then Panneerselvam is bound to vote in favour of what the party decides. Going against the party decision could result in him being suspended as an MLA.