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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister 'Edappadi' K Palaniswami along with ministers during the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Thursday. PTI [/caption]
Chennai, Feb. 16: Edappadi K Palaniswami, a V K Sasikala loyalist, was yesterday sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, ending the 10-day political uncertainty in the state which began with caretaker CM O Panneerselvam’s revolt against the AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) general secretary.
Palaniswami is the third person to occupy the top post in the last nine months.
Governor C Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office and secrecy to 63-year-old Palaniswami, a party veteran from western Tamil Nadu, at the head of a 31-member Cabinet at a ceremony in the Raj Bhavan this evening.
The ministers were sworn-in in batches.
Palaniswami is the third AIADMK leader to be sworn-in as Chief Minister in the last nine months. AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had powered the party to a rare successive term in office in the state in the May, 2016 Assembly Polls. She continued in the post through her grim 74-day battle for life.
Within hours of her death on December 5, Panneerselvam, who had filled in for Jayalalithaa twice in the past when she had to go to jail in corruption cases, was sworn-in as Chief Minister.
Panneerselvam later stepped down, paving the way for Sasikala, who was already chosen AIADMK general secretary, to be elected its legislature party leader on February five.
However, the usually reticent Man Friday of Jayalalithaa rose in rebellion against Sasikala two days later, claiming he was coerced into resigning. He even expressed willingness to become Chief Minister again if the people of Tamil Nadu and AIADMK workers so desired.
His belligerence plunged the state into a political crisis.
Amid the face off with Panneerselvam, Sasikala met Governor Rao on February 9 and staked claim to form the government.
Notwithstanding criticism from several quarters, Rao preferred to wait and watch as the political tug-of-war played out between the rival AIADMK factions.
He stood vindicated when Sasikala and two members of her family were convicted and their sentences restored by the Supreme Court in a disproportionate assets case on February 14, rendering her ineligible for contesting elections for 10 years and dashing her hopes of becoming the Chief Minister.
Sasikala then handpicked her loyalist Palaniswami, who was elected AIADMK legislature party leader, and staked claim to form the government on Tuesday.
Palaniswami was invited by the Governor today to form the government after he submitted a list of 124 MLAs supporting him last night. He has 15 days to prove his majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today exuded confidence that he will prove his majority in the Assembly and ensure that “the government of Amma (Jayalalithaa) will continue.”
“I wish to say that Amma’s (Jayalalithaa) government will continue by me proving majority in the Assembly,” he told reporters in his first media interaction after taking over as Chief Minister of the southern state.
The Governor had asked the newly sworn in Chief Minister to seek the vote of confidence in the Assembly within 15 days.
The ruling AIADMK yesterday said all the party MLAs were working as a family and the focus will be on delivering good governance to the people of Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.
“Now, we have the party under the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami (as Chief Minister). We will focus on delivering good governance to the people of Tamil Nadu,” Minister for Milk and Dairy Development, K T Rajendhira Balaji told a Tamil channel.
On the remarks by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam that they would never allow a family, apparently referring to AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala to run the government, Balaji said, “No family is dominating us. We (the 124 legislators) all are united and working as a family.”
Elaborating, he said, “all these days we were protecting the unity in the party. Now, we all are united and the focus will be on delivering good governance.
Edapaddi K Palaniswami, who yesterday took office as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, will hold the important Home and Finance portfolios, which were earlier held by his predecessor O Panneerselvam.
Besides, the new Chief Minister will also take care of other key portfolios of Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports, which he had managed as a minister in the Jayalalithaa and Panneerselvam cabinets.
The Chief Minister allotted the following portfolios to his Cabinet Ministers: C Srinivasan (Forests), K A Sengottaiyan (School Education), K Raju (Cooperation), P Thangamani (Electricity), S P Velumani (Municipal Administration), D Jayakumar (Fisheries) and C Ve Shanmugam (Law).
K P Anbalagan will look after Higher Education, V Saroja (Social Welfare), M C Sampath (Industries), K C Karuppannan (Environment), R Kamaraj (Food), O S Manian (Handloom), K Radhakrishnan (Housing), C Vijaya Baskar (Health and Family Welfare), R Dorai Kannu (Agriculture), Kadambur Raju (Information), R B Udhayakumar(Revenue) and N Natarajan (Tourism).
K C Veeramani has been allotted Commercial Taxes, K T Rajenthira Balaji (Dairy Development), P Benjamin (Rural Industries), Nilofer Kafeel (Labor), M R Vijayabaskar (Transport), M Manikandan (Information Technology), V M Rajalakshmi (Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare), G Baskaran (Khadi and Village Industries Board) and S Ramachandran (HR and CE).
S Valarmathi has been given charge of Backward Classes and Minority Welfare department, while P Balakrishna Reddy will be the Animal Husbandry minister.
All the Ministers, barring Sengottaiyan, had handled the respective portfolios in the Panneerselvam cabinet too.
K Pandiarajan, now in the Panneerselvam camp, was School Education Minister in the previous cabinet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lastnight called up Edappadi K. Palaniswami to congratulate him on taking over as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
“Spoke to Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami & congratulated him on taking over as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,” Modi tweeted.
The Prime Minister made the phone call hours after Palaniswami, a V K Sasikala loyalist, was sworn-in as the Chief Minister, ending 10-day political uncertainty in Tamil Nadu which had begun with caretaker CM O Panneerselvam’s revolt against the AIADMK general secretary.
Governor C Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office and secrecy to 63-year-old Palaniswami, a party veteran from western Tamil Nadu, at the head of a 31-member Cabinet at a ceremony in the Raj Bhavan this evening.
Palaniswami is the third person to occupy the top post in the last nine months.