TN government formation: Who will be next CM — Palanisamy or Panneerselvam?

The dreams of Sasikala Natarajan, alias VK Sasikala are dashed: She has surrendered after being convicted in a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case and is currently lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru, where she will live out the rest of her jail sentence: around three-and-half years. With that, the focus now turns on who will be the next chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

Also read: Sasikala Convicted: List of things Sasikala wants at her cell in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison

Palanisamy to succeed Sasikala?

Chances are high for Edappadi Palanisamy, who was elected All India anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Legislative Party chief after Sasikala when she was convicted in the DA case. Palanisamy — currently the state's minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports — has the numbers with him: He is essentially the leader of the ruling AIADMK, and can be called to form the government.

However, it all depends on TN Governor C Vidyasagar Rao: He may simply choose to give Panneerselvam the first chance. What may further influence that decision could be the fact that Sasikala and Palanisamy have been accused by an MLA of kidnapping him and other TN lawmakers belonging to the party. They had been kept at a resort in order to be produced in front of Rao in case there was a floor test.

Does Panneerselvam have a chance?

O Panneerselvam, who is currently the acting chief minister, may have it simple for him if it so pleases the governor. After all, all Panneerselvam needs to do is resume his duties, but for that he needs to parade the numbers in his favour. Now, Panneerselvam already has a few AIADMK MLAs behind him. If ever the rest of the AIADMK gets a whiff of the tide turning in his favour, they could end up joining him, giving him the strength to work on as chief minister.

The other option before Panneerselvam is to form a new party. However, in doing so, he could lose the right to harp on the legacy of late party president and TN chief minister J Jayalalithaa, and would have to rely on support from outside. One possible source could be the DMK, which could use the new party and Panneerselvam as a puppet to impose its own will in ruling the state.