'Chinnamma' to be Tamil Nadu CM

Tamil Nadu is set to get its third woman Chief Minister. AIADMK MLAs on Sunday elected General Secretary V.K. Sasikala as their legislature leader, two months after her mentor J. Jayalalithaa died.

The legislators unanimously chose Sasikala, who is not a member of the assembly, for the post. And she lost no time in saying that outgoing Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam himself wanted her to head the government.

Addressing the legislators, the 59-year old Sasikala, a long-time confidante of Jayalalithaa, said Panneerselvam had also insisted earlier that she become the party head too.

Panneerselvam, who had earlier been acting Chief Minister twice, sent his resignation to Sasikala, party sources said.

The main opposition DMK said it was “shocked” that the AIADMK had chosen an administratively inexperienced Sasikala as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, one of India’s biggest states.

“People didn’t vote for Sasikala,” DMK Working President M.K. Stalin said. The DMK said Sunday was a “black day” for Tamil Nadu.