Tamil Nadu: Governor invites E Palaniswami to form govt; seek vote of confidence in 15 days

Hyderabad feb 16 : Ending the deadlock, Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao on Thursday invited AIADMK Legislative Party leader Edapaddi K Palaniswami to form the government.The Governor has asked him to seek vote of confidence in 15 days.Palaniswami, on Wednesday met the Governor with his camp claiming support of 124 of the party's 134 MLAs. Tamil Nadu has a 234-member legislative assembly.
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Panneerselvam gave a representation to the Governor claiming 'majority' support and seeking an opportunity to demonstrate it. The Panneerselvam camp has alleged AIADMK MLAs were held at a resort on Chennai's outskirts against their wish.Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar, who was among those who accompanied Palaniswami, claimed the group has the support of 124 MLAs.

The Governor had earlier kept his decision pending as the verdict in the disproportionate assets case against AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala, a claimant for chief ministership, was due to be announced by the Supreme Court, which delivered it on Tuesday, restoring her conviction and sentence, which shattered her hopes of occupying the top seat.

While O Panneerselvam has managed to win over 10 odd MPs and some MLAs, Sasikala has been able to rally the support of an overwhelming majority of AIADMK MLAs.Before she began serving the remnant three years, 10 months and 27 days sentence in a Karnataka prison this evening, in a surprise move, Sasikala reinducted her close relatives T T V Dinkaran and S Venkatesh into the party, five years after their expulsion by AIADMK supremo and the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa.Sasikala appointed Dinakaran, her nephew and former Rajya Sabha member, the deputy general secretary of AIADMK, a move seen by many as an attempt to hand over the party's control to him till her return from jail.