Governor to reach Chennai today

> 131 out of 134 AIADMK MLAs were present as Sasikala spoke for an hour about the crisis forced on the party by Panneerselvam. “I hope all of you, all of you who loved Amma will be with me,” she said. > State Governor C Vidyasgar Rao had not returned to Chennai. Hence Sasikala has not been able to meet him to formally present evidence of her party’s support for her induction as chief minister. But the governor is set to reach Chennai on Thursday afternoon. > There were unconfirmed reports that the AIADMK would even parade the MLAs before the president if the Governor delays the swearing-in of Sasikala. > Panneerselvam sat at Jayalalithaa’s grave for 40 minutes with his eyes closed on Tuesday night. He was filmed during his “meditation”.

> The AIADMK, with its immense popularity of Jayalalithaa, was reelected as recently as May, and its lawmakers are unlikely to change their allegiance and risk being punished under anti-defection laws. > One of the problems Sasikala is facing is that the Supreme Court has said that it will rule next week on whether she assisted Jayalalithaa in a amassing of wealth in the early 1990s. > The DMK has said that Sasikala should not be made chief minister till the judgment is passed. > Sasikala’s elevation has also enraged the public, with online and offline campaigns that highlight her lack of experience and saying that they voted for Jayalalithaa and not a leader who has never run for office and has no administrative training.