There was no visible change in the narrow lane branching out to the east from Greenways Road here leading to ‘Thenpennai,’ the official residence of Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, on Wednesday, a day after political developments propelled him to the top post for the third time. Except for the rustle of dry leaves as conservancy workers went about their work, there was little activity to suggest that it was the house of Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister.
No increased security
Even security had not been increased. There were only a couple of policemen in the temporary shelter in front of the house. The name board outside still referred to him as Finance Minister, in charge of several other portfolios.
Interestingly, Mr. Panneerselvam is perhaps the only Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in nearly 60 years to reside in a bungalow allotted by the government. He had stayed in government bungalows during his brief tenures in 2001 and 2014-15.
His two immediate predecessors lived in their own homes. While his political mentor, the late AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa, lived at the imposing Veda Nilayam in Poes Garden, DMK president M. Karunanidhi switched between his Gopalapuram and CIT Colony houses.
Informed sources say V.R. Nedunchezhiyan was the last Chief Minister to stay in an official bungalow when he briefly held the reins of the State after the demise of the former Chief Minister, M.G. Ramachandran.
Since Independence, only two Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers have occupied government bungalows. While Chief Minister of the then Madras Presidency O.P. Ramasamy Reddiyar stayed at ‘Cooum House’ on Swami Sivananda Salai, his successor P.S. Kumaraswamy Raja lived in a bungalow on Greenways Road.
