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PANNEERSELVAM SWORN IN AS NEW TAMIL NADU CM
Handpicked by J Jayalalithaa, O Panneerselvam, the 'Mr Faithful' of the
AIADMK supremo, has taken oath as the new Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu after he
was elected as leader of the legislature party in the wake of her conviction in
an illegal assets case.
63-year-old Panneerselvam, who was chosen by J
Jayalalithaa to fill her shoes in a similar situation in 2001, was unanimously
elected as leader of AIADMK Legislature Party in Chennai on Sunday, a day after
her conviction and sentencing in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets
case.
Described as "Mr Faithful", Panneerselvam belongs to the dominant
Mudukulathor community and is a trusted lieutenant of Jayalalithaa.
The ruling party MLAs will meet Governor K Rosaiah
to communicate him the decision, party sources said.
The name of Panneerselvam was understood to have communicated by Jayalalithaa
in the court itself after the verdict was pronounced on Saturday.
She also had a long conversation with him in the court before she was lodged in
Bangalore jail.
Panneerselvam was handpicked by Jayalalithaa in 2001 when Supreme Court struck
down her appointment as Chief Minister by the then Governor Fathima Beevi
following her conviction in TANSI land case.
The soft spoken and suave leader literally functioned as "interim-chief
minister" for about six months and duly vacated the post after
Jayalalithaa was acquitted in the case.
Panneerselvam, who had been camping in Bangalore since Saturday when
Jayalalithaa travelled there for the verdict in the disproportionate asset
case, returned to the city on Sunday to take up the new responsibility as per
her direction.
Soon after his election, Panneerselvam drove to Raj Bhavan to call on Governor
Rosaiah to convey the party's decision.
He was accompanied by Housing minister R Vaithilingam, Electricity Minister
Natham Viswanathan and Highway Minister Edappadi Palanisamy. The press was
denied entry into Raj Bhavan.
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