`Guv should ask for an affidavit signed by each MLA'
Number game on as OPS, Edappadi groups meet guv
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dealt a body blow to Jayalalithaa's `friend and sister' V K Sasikala's vaulting ambition to be chief minister of Tamil Nadu by ordering that she be sent back to jail immediately to serve out the remaining three years, 10 months and 27 days of a four-year sentence for corruption, handed down to her by a trial court in September 2014.In a unanimous judgment on a 21-year-old case of disproportionate assets, which also bars her from holding public office for 10 years, a two-judge SC bench “unhesitatingly“ set aside the Karnataka HC's judgment “erroneously“ acquitting Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and two others in May 2015 and upheld the conviction of the trial court, which it found to be “flawless“.
The judgment is expected to plunge Tamil Nadu into renewed political uncertainty and horse-trading, and split the 134 MLAstrong ruling AIADMK between supporters of acting CM O Panneerselvam and Sasikala, who, like Jaya before her, appears intent on ruling the state from behind bars. Even after the SC verdict, she continued to plot her moves from a luxury resort near Chennai, where she has kept over a hundred MLAs in isolation for almost a week, primarily so that they cannot be poached by OPS -despite which there has been a steady trickle of defections. Within hours of the judgment, the party elected Sasikala loyalist and strongman of Salem Edappadi K Palaniswami as the leader of the legislature party . Soon afterwards, he visited governor C Vidyasagar Rao along with several other senior leaders to stake claim to form government. He submitted a letter of support from MLAs to establish his claim though it is not clear how many legislators have endorsed his claim.
OPS -who took over as CM after Jayalalithaa died and then submitted his resignation to make way for Sasikala before doing a U-turn -also sent his representatives to meet the governor and stake his claim. He is expected to challenge the election of Palaniswami as leader on the grounds that the process was not fair. Whether the MLAs stay with the Sasikala camp after they emerge from the resort is being watched as this might indicate the true extent of support for OPS.But with neither faction appearing to be in a position to command the required 118 for a simple majority , political observers predict a divided assembly where no faction may win a majority , eventually leading to a midterm election that should lift rival DMK's spirits. However, the situation could worry the BJP-led central government, which would have been counting on support from the AIADMK contingent in Parliament in the coming presidential elections. AIADMK MLAs, however, will also be under pressure to ensure that early elections are avoided as the current assembly is barely a year old. This could prompt them to try and assess which faction seems capable of drawing larger numbers. In the eventuality of an unclear verdict in the assembly , this would be the fifth time in TN's post-Independent history that President's rule would be imposed.
Having won 89 seats in the May 2016 assembly election and with eight Congress representatives and two allies adding strength, DMK's neutral position in the 234-member assembly has only deepened the crisis in the AIADMK. With Sasikala's conviction in the DA case throwing her faction into further turmoil, there are likely to be more desertions and switchovers to the OPS camp. While Palaniswami and senior leader K A Sengottaiyan command significant support in the state's western districts, pro-OPS sentiments among the people and Sasikala's conviction are expected to thin her ranks.
While there was no official word from Raj Bhavan till the time of going to press, indications are that the governor might call for a composite floor test in a special session to determine if either side has majority. “The governor must convene the assembly and ask both factions to establish their MLAs' strength. If Sasikala faction gets anywhere close to 100 MLAs, they are still short by 18 MLAs for a simple majority. But the governor may still invite this faction as it is the single largest group to form the government and ask it to prove its majority within a time frame,“ former solicitor general Mohan Parasaran told TOI. Meanwhile, Thuglak editor and RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy tweeted that `Edappadi Palaniswami is disqualified to be sworn in because he was elected in the resort where MLAs were kept captive'. Parasaran too added that there was a hitch in inviting the Sasikala faction to prove its strength. “It is not known whether the MLAs at Koovathur signed on their own volition. The governor should ask for an affidavit signed by each MLA before a government official suggested by him so that the numbers shown on the paper is genuine,“ he said.
As uncertainty grew, political leaders debated the possibility of another assembly election.
The judgment is expected to plunge Tamil Nadu into renewed political uncertainty and horse-trading, and split the 134 MLAstrong ruling AIADMK between supporters of acting CM O Panneerselvam and Sasikala, who, like Jaya before her, appears intent on ruling the state from behind bars. Even after the SC verdict, she continued to plot her moves from a luxury resort near Chennai, where she has kept over a hundred MLAs in isolation for almost a week, primarily so that they cannot be poached by OPS -despite which there has been a steady trickle of defections. Within hours of the judgment, the party elected Sasikala loyalist and strongman of Salem Edappadi K Palaniswami as the leader of the legislature party . Soon afterwards, he visited governor C Vidyasagar Rao along with several other senior leaders to stake claim to form government. He submitted a letter of support from MLAs to establish his claim though it is not clear how many legislators have endorsed his claim.
OPS -who took over as CM after Jayalalithaa died and then submitted his resignation to make way for Sasikala before doing a U-turn -also sent his representatives to meet the governor and stake his claim. He is expected to challenge the election of Palaniswami as leader on the grounds that the process was not fair. Whether the MLAs stay with the Sasikala camp after they emerge from the resort is being watched as this might indicate the true extent of support for OPS.But with neither faction appearing to be in a position to command the required 118 for a simple majority , political observers predict a divided assembly where no faction may win a majority , eventually leading to a midterm election that should lift rival DMK's spirits. However, the situation could worry the BJP-led central government, which would have been counting on support from the AIADMK contingent in Parliament in the coming presidential elections. AIADMK MLAs, however, will also be under pressure to ensure that early elections are avoided as the current assembly is barely a year old. This could prompt them to try and assess which faction seems capable of drawing larger numbers. In the eventuality of an unclear verdict in the assembly , this would be the fifth time in TN's post-Independent history that President's rule would be imposed.
Having won 89 seats in the May 2016 assembly election and with eight Congress representatives and two allies adding strength, DMK's neutral position in the 234-member assembly has only deepened the crisis in the AIADMK. With Sasikala's conviction in the DA case throwing her faction into further turmoil, there are likely to be more desertions and switchovers to the OPS camp. While Palaniswami and senior leader K A Sengottaiyan command significant support in the state's western districts, pro-OPS sentiments among the people and Sasikala's conviction are expected to thin her ranks.
While there was no official word from Raj Bhavan till the time of going to press, indications are that the governor might call for a composite floor test in a special session to determine if either side has majority. “The governor must convene the assembly and ask both factions to establish their MLAs' strength. If Sasikala faction gets anywhere close to 100 MLAs, they are still short by 18 MLAs for a simple majority. But the governor may still invite this faction as it is the single largest group to form the government and ask it to prove its majority within a time frame,“ former solicitor general Mohan Parasaran told TOI. Meanwhile, Thuglak editor and RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy tweeted that `Edappadi Palaniswami is disqualified to be sworn in because he was elected in the resort where MLAs were kept captive'. Parasaran too added that there was a hitch in inviting the Sasikala faction to prove its strength. “It is not known whether the MLAs at Koovathur signed on their own volition. The governor should ask for an affidavit signed by each MLA before a government official suggested by him so that the numbers shown on the paper is genuine,“ he said.
As uncertainty grew, political leaders debated the possibility of another assembly election.
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