Edappadi Palaniswami gets invite to form government

NewsDesk
Edappadi Palaniswami gets invite to form government

E Palanisami, VK Sasikala’s loyalist and nomination for Tamil Nadu chief minister, has been invited by Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to form government. He is likely to be sworn in as chief minister today itself. He will have 15 days to prove his strength in the floor of the House.

Palanisami was elected leader of AIADMK’s legislative party by the Sasikala faction the day the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Sasikala in a disproportionate assets case.

Palaniswami, a leader from western Tamil Nadu’s Salem, is from the politically powerful OBC Gounder community. He doesn’t have large support base in his home town but might reap the benefits of being a staunch Jayalalithaa loyalist.

Jayalalithaa rewarded Palaniswami for his loyalty by nominating him as the AIADMK (Jayalalithaa) candidate in Edappadi constituency during the 1989 elections, in which he was victorious. Though he was sidelined for almost a decade after failing to secure his seat after 1991, Palaniswami continued to be a trusted party leader.

In the May 2016 elections, Palaniswami was fielded again in Edappadi , which he easily won by margin of 42,022 votes.

As head of the legislature party, Palaniswami has already expelled Panneerselvam from the AIADMK but whether he can muster enough strength to defeat OPS in a floor test remains to be seen.

Edappadi Palaniswami gets invite to form government

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