Stalin to take oath as CM on Friday

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit appointed M.K. Stalin, who has been chosen as the Leader of the DMK Legislative Party, as Chief Minister on Wednesday and invited him to form the next government in the state. Stalin would be sworn in as Chief Minister along with his Ministerial colleagues on Friday 9 am at the Raj Bhavan in a simple function, which will be attended by just around 200 persons.

Earlier in the day, the DMK president, along with his party general secretary Durai Murugan, treasurer T.R. Balu, principal secretary K.N. Nehru and organisation secretary R.S. Bharati, called on the Governor at Raj Bhavan. Stalin handed over the resolution passed at the meeting of the DMK legislators on Tuesday evening at Anna Arivalayam, electing him as the leader, and also a list of some 28 ministers to be sworn in along with him. The Governor’s office handed over a letter to him inviting him to form the government. Raj Bhavan officials have been coordinating with the state officials on the conduct of the swearingin function.

The names of ministers chosen by Stalin became a matter of speculation that too many lists were making their rounds in social media with people making their own guesses and conjectures. Though the DMK cadre and functionaries would have preferred to have a gala function to mark the installation of the government at a public place in view of the party returning to power after 10 years, the decision to make it a simple affair was taken in view of the pandemic.

Stalin will be the third Chief Minister from the DMK to assume office after C.N. Annadurai, the party founder, and M. Karunanidhi. The party first captured power in the state in 1967. The DMK now has a combined strength of 133 MLAs – 125 DMK members and the rest members of alliance parties who contested in the Rising Sun symbol — in the 16th Assembly and thus is not dependent on other parties for a simple majority.