The election of V.K. Sasikala as Leader of the AIADMK Legislature Party on Sunday would appear to reflect the thinking among a section of the party’s higher echelons that disfavours multiple power centres in the party. By this assessment, both party and government should be in the same hands at this point in the party’s journey, according to informed political sources.
The day Ms. Sasikala was elected general secretary of the party, December 29, 2016, it was a foregone conclusion that she would occupy the seat of the Chief Minister. But even many AIADMK ministers and seniors did not appear to have expected that to happen so soon, say the sources.
But everyone is not sanguine in their opinion on the development. “I am not able to understand the timing of her election, especially as the public mood against her and the AIADMK government was palpable during the pro-jallikattu protests," said Professor A.R. Venkatachalapathy of the Madras Institute of Development Studies, a keen observer of Tamil Nadu politics.
Prof. Venkatachalapathy is of the opinion that Ms. Sasikala’s election goes against the wishes of the AIADMK cadre and the general public. “The general public is of the opinion that Tamil Nadu's name has been sullied by her election,” he said, mincing no words.
Thirumavalavan’s take
However, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol. Thirumavalavan asked whether there were any concrete reasons to oppose Ms. Sasikala’s candidature. “Do we have any defined qualification for a person to become a Prime Minister of the country or Chief Minister of a State?” he asked. Ms. Sasikala, he said, had been elected by the AIADMK MLAs and thereby had fulfilled the requirement to become Chief Minister.
On the argument that a person who has never contested an election cannot become Chief Minister, Mr. Thirumavalavan countered by asking what Rajiv Gandhi's qualification was to become Prime Minister in 1984 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
“One person who deserves our appreciation is Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam. He proved to be party loyalist,” he said.
Questions and criticism
Even some of those who saw Ms. Sasikala’s election as general secretary in December as an internal matter of the AIADMK, on Sunday criticised her elevation as Legislative Party leader and consequently the Chief Minister. Some of them seemed to raise questions of propriety rather than legality. “As a ruling party, the AIADMK is not just a political party. It represents the people of Tamil Nadu. The law may not prevent the AIADMK MLAs from electing her as Legislative Party leader. But it is totally against ethics and democratic norms to allow a person who had never faced the people as the Chief Minster of the State,” said Dravidar Tamil Peravai leader Suba. Veerapandian.
