Sasikala elected AIADMK legislature party leader

Chennai: AIADMK legislators on Sunday elected General Secretary V.K. Sasikala as leader of their legislature party, paving the way for her to become the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.

According to AIADMK sources, Sasikala's name was proposed by incumbent Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and seconded by other MLAs unanimously.

The election of Sasikala puts an end to speculation about her elevation to the top post in the government since she was elected the AIADMK General Secretary following the death of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

Earlier, Panneerselvam and other ministers met Sasikala at the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa where Sasikala continues to live.

The meeting of the legislators was called at short notice, a day after Sasikala appointed some former ministers and others who had been earlier shunted out by Jayalalithaa to various party posts.

Jayalalithaa died in December following a prolonged illness. Sasikala had been the erstwhile AIADMK leader's confidante for a long time.