Sasikala to take over as Tamil Nadu CM on Feb. 9

Chennai , Feb 5, 2017 : AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala was on Sunday elected as the Leader of the Legislature party by the MLAs in the party head office in Chennai paving the way for her swearing in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Ms. Sasikala will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on February 9. The development came exactly two months after Jayalalithaa's death. Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam proposed her name in the MLAs' meeting and she was unanimously elected as the Legislature party leader. Mr. Panneerselvam said he would soon hand over the resignation to the Governor. Ms. Sasikala was  elected as the party's general secretary in December last year following the death of Jayalalithaa. If she is sworn in as Chief Minister, Ms. Sasikala needs to get elected to the Assembly within six months. “It was Panneerselvam who had first persuaded me to become the chief minister and general secretary as well when Jayalalithaa passed away,” Ms. Sasikala told party legislators, after being elected as the legislature party leader. The AIADMK twitter handle said "Following the demise of our Honourable Amma, it was Thiru. O.Paneerselvam who urged me first to take charge as the general secretary of AIADMK", said Ms. Sasikala. The twitter handle further stated that Ms. Sasikala assured "The Tamil Nadu Government will always work towards the welfare of the people. Tamil Nadu Government will follow the principles of Amma." TheHindu