Chennai: AIADMK legislators on Sunday elected General Secretary V.K. Sasikala as leader of their legislature party, paving the way for her to become the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
Addressing the legislators, the 59-year old Sasikala, a long-time confidante of the late J. Jayalalithaa, said it was incumbent Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam who urged her to head the government.
It was also Panneerselvam, who succeeded Jayalalithaa after her death in December, who insisted that she first become the AIADMK chief too, she said.
Sasikala made it clear that the Tamil Nadu government would follow the footsteps of Jayalalithaa.
According to AIADMK sources, Sasikala’s name as the legislature party leader was proposed by Panneerselvam and seconded by other MLAs.
The election of Sasikala puts an end to speculation about her elevation to the top post in the government since she was elected the AIADMK leader after Jayalalithaa passed away.
Earlier, Panneerselvam and other ministers met Sasikala at the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa where Sasikala continues to live.
The meeting of the legislators was called at short notice, a day after Sasikala appointed some former ministers and others who had been earlier shunted out by Jayalalithaa to various party posts.