New Delhi:
AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala on Saturday wrote a letter to Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao seeking appointment to meet him along with her MLAs.
As it Happened:
#Another MP leaves Sasikala camp; Tiruvannamalai MP Vanaroja extends support to Panneerselvam
#Please wait and watch: VK Sasikala on question if she will look for legal remedies. (9:00PM)
#Sasikala -Needed measures will be taken
#We were waiting patiently till this moment for a reply from the honourable Governor
#Sasikala - We were waiting patiently till this moment for a reply from the honourable Governor
#Sasikala - All the party MLAS are fine and happy
#Sasikala - After meeting the party MLAs,I feel happy
#Sasikala - I feel all of this is being done to create a rift in the party
#Sasikala- Tomorrow we will approach the situation differently
#List of MLAs has already been submitted, but governor is calm, he should come out & call our 'Amma' to form the govt: Anwar Raja, AIADMK MP (8:35PM)
#BJP MP Subramanian Swamy meets Governor Vidyasagar Rao, discusses current political scenario in Tamil Nadu (7:45PM)
#AIADMK MP V Sathyabama meets O Paneerselvam, offers support (7:30PM)
#In present situation person who has been with the party for so many years & assumed duty of CM for 2 times is only OPS: C. Ponnaiyan, AIADMK
#Ponnaiyan - OPS is favourite child of Tamil people. (6:10PM)
#Ponnaiyan - Leadership of the party and govt should be only as per cadres wishes. (6:10PM)
#Ponnaiyan refers to Sasikala as Chinnamma. Cadre at OPS house protest. He corrects and calls her Sasikala Amma. (6:10PM)
#Ponnaiyan - Except for Sasikala no one was allowed to see Jaya in Hospital. (6:10PM)
#Ponnaiyan - Only 1.5crore cadre can elect the General secretary of AIADMK. No one else can be GS as per party bylaws (6:10PM)
#AIADMK Interim General Secretary VK Sasikala concludes discussions with party MLAs at Kuvathoor (5:20PM)
#Party Organization Secretary Ponnaiyan extends support to OPS (5:20PM)
#Tamil Nadu Political crisis: Inside visuals of the Golden Bay resort in Kuvathur, VK Sasikala present along with MLAs. (5:15PM)
#Tamil Nadu Political crisis: Security tightened at Raj Bhavan, heavy police deployment. (5:15PM)
#TamilNadu: Police force deployment outside Golden Bay Resort in Kuvathur where MLAs are lodged, VK Sasikala inside. (5:15PM)
#WATCH: Sasikala surrounded by supporters at Golden Bay resort in Kuvathur where MLAs are present,slogans raised in her support #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/bSWb66ZaJl
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 11, 2017
#TamilNadu: Police force deployment outside Golden Bay Resort in Kuvathur where MLAs are lodged, VK Sasikala inside. pic.twitter.com/nPBPZHHMLz
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 11, 2017
Tamil Nadu Political crisis: Security tightened at Raj Bhavan, heavy police deployment. pic.twitter.com/Jo8BXSlDqD
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 11, 2017
Tamil Nadu Political crisis: Inside visuals of the Golden Bay resort in Kuvathur, VK Sasikala present along with MLAs pic.twitter.com/jPJZ2DAcgc
— ANI (@ANI_news)
February 11, 2017
#Drama is coming to a close soon. I'm at least in touch with 20 of them (MLAs) so I don't think phones are switched off: K Pandiarajan (4:45PM) (Read full story here)
#Our number will be more than what it is today & it will land at 135:TN Education Min K Pandiarajan, extending support to O Panneerselvam (4:45PM)
#TN Police tightens security at Raj Bhawan in anticipation of drama by AIADMK MLAs drama at Raj Bhavan: Sources (4:15PM) (Read full story here)
#Sasikala holds meeting with over 120 MLAs of AIADMK at Kuvathur resort (4:10PM)
#Tamil Nadu: Sasikala reaches Golden Bay Resort in Kuvathur where MLAs are lodged (3:54PM)
#Sasikala Natarajan going to meet party MLAs: AIADMK
#Chennai V K Sasikala leaves Poes Garden for Jayalalithaa's memorial at Marina Beach,'later she'll go to Koovathur resort where MLAs are lodged
#We urge PM &HM to safeguard TN from forces which are all out against us & can take law & order into their hands: AIADMK MP V Maithreyan
#Sasikala Natarajan leaves Poes Garden.
#Panneerselvam welcomes state minister K Pandiarajan who has extended his support to him TamilNadu.
# We are not depending on any party dmk or bjp. Spirit of mass will carry AIADMK, he added. Governor is assessing the situation.
#Saw support of people for Ops that helped me to decide. I will strengthen hands of ops.Ops is chosen by amma and I moved here because of positive pull from ops, says Mafoi.
#Amma is showing us betrayers of our party;Ppl who think they can separate our party that has 1.5 cr ppl will only face defeat: Sasikala
#Amma is confident that I'll look after AIADMK; Relentless work by Amma has made AIADMK 3rd largest party. Amma is with us now: V K Sasikala
#Amma has given me 1.5 crore party brothers and sisters. When they are with me,the sinister intentions of many will not harm me: V K Sasikala
Hon CM welcoming hon minister @mafoikprajan pic.twitter.com/bbtGTZcSas
— திர௠O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 11, 2017
#TN School Education Minister K Pandiarajan joins Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's camp
# In the letter written to Governor, Sasikala has questioned the delay in her oath ceremony stating that seven days have passed since Panneerselvam resigned as the chief minister.
# Earlier, Tamil Nadu state minister K Pandiarajan met Panneerselvam and offered support to him.
# "I am confident all leaders who care about Tamil people will come and join us," said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Saturday.
Panneerselvam reacts
In hard-hitting remarks against Sasikala without naming her, Panneerselvam on Friday said the "dream of those to capture power" will end as a "daydream" and asserted that his camp would not allow the party to go into the hands of "a family".
Addressing party workers, Panneerselvam, who has revolted against Sasikala, dubbed her aspiration to helm both AIADMK and the government as "selfishness and family hegemony".
"The dream of those who want to capture the party and government will end as a daydream. We will not allow anybody, any selfish forces to capture the party which was built by Amma (former AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa)," he said.
The party was the asset of the AIADMK cadre, he said, adding, "we will never allow this to become the property of a family", an apparent reference to Sasikala and her extended family.
ALSO READ | Power struggle in Tamil Nadu | Sasikala vs Pannerselvam: What options are available before Governor Vidyasagar Rao
The Crisis deepens
The wait for chief ministership in Tamil Nadu prolonged with Governor still undecided on the issue as the feud in the ruling AIADMK escalated on Friday with Sasikala sacking party presidium chairman E Madusudanan who wrote to the Election Commission not to recognise her as General Secretary.
The Governor was said to be still evaluating legal opinion on Sasikala's claim to having an overwhelming support of party MLAs while the judgement of Supreme Court on disproportionate assets case against her was imminent next week.
On his part, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Friday night asserted that his camp would not allow the party to go into hands of 'a family' and that the "dream of those to capture power" will end as a "day dream".
Sending a strong message to her detractors, Sasikala sacked Madusudanan from the primary membership of the party, a day after he switched over to the rebel camp led by caretaker Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, and appointed former minister K A Sengottaiyan in his place.
Sengottaiyan was relieved as the party's Organisation Secretary, a post to which he was appointed last week.
Sasikala urged the party workers not to have any truck with Madusudanan and said they should extend their cooperation to Sengottaiyan.
Giving a major boost to the rival camp, Madusudanan on Thursday extended his support to Panneerselvam, saying he wanted to "safeguard" the party.
"To protect AIADMK, everybody should join hands with OPS (Panneerselvam)," he had said.
Sasikala had removed Panneerselvam from the Treasurer post immediately after his revolt, but he has maintained that being a temporary general secretary, she does not have the powers to appoint or remove party functionaries. Insisting that he continues to be the treasurer, Panneerselvam has written to banks not to allow anybody else to operate the party accounts without his consent.
Sasikala had appointed another senior leader Dindigul C Srinivasan as the treasurer.
Hitting back at Sasikala, Madusudanan has written to the poll panel urging it to not to recognise her as AIADMK general secretary, saying she was not elected to the post as per party by-laws.
Madusudanan told reporters about the letter shortly before he was sacked from AIADMK by Sasikala for "acting against the party".
Asserting that only cadres can elect a general secretary as per party rules, Madusudanan said he had asked the EC not to recognise Sasikala as party chief.
ALSO READ | OPS vs Chinnamma: Sasikala and Panneerselvam in bitter battle over Jaya's legacy in Tamil Nadu. What's next? An explainer
Expelled AIADMK Rajya Sabha member Sasikala Pushpa has already petitioned the EC against the election of V K Sasikala, saying it was not done as per procedure and the EC has sought the party's response to it.
