Power struggle in Tamil Nadu | Sasikala vs Pannerselvam: What options are available before Governor Vidyasagar Rao

Tamil Nadu has been facing the situation of political instability after the demise of J Jayalalithaa. AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala was elected as legislature party leader by MLAs during a party meeting, paving way for her to become next Tamil Nadu chief minister.

After which the dramatic meditation of OPS at Jaya’s memorial, the subsequent bombshell of a press meet happened at short notice, and Sasikala

Governor Rao, who was not in the state from last three days, has only increased the clouds of speculations on what steps he will take. On his flight to Chennai also he declined to comment on the issue.

OPS vs Chinnamma Live: Panneerselvam meets supporters; Sasikala stakes claim to form government

The governor has three options to finish the political turmoil in Tamil Nadu-

1) In case there is a situation where both the contenders claim to have the majority then the governor will have to conduct oath of office to one of them as Pannerselvam’s resignation has been accepted by the governor and it cannot be reversed. However before that, the governor will have to assure the house and people of state that one of them has majority.

2) The governor may wait for the Supreme Court verdict on Sasikala’s alleged involvement in corruption and allow Pannerselvam to continue as acting CM for few more days.

3) The governor may ask the house to elect their leader if there is confusion on majority vote over the claims made by both the contenders. UP has gone through similar situation 18 years back when Jagdambika Pal was instated as CM of the state after overthrowing Kalyan Singh government on Feb 21-22 1998.