AIADMK General Secretary Sasikala on Tuesday sacked acting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam while, Minister Edappady K Palaniswamy was elected the leader of the legislature party.
The development comes shortly after Sasikala was convicted by the Supreme Court (SC) in a corruption case and is bound to be jailed.
The decision was taken after Sasikala met the 125 MLAs, who have been lodged in a resort on the outskirts of Chennai to thwart any attempts of horse-trading by the Panneerselvam camp.
Palaniswamy is a known Sasikala loyalist and is likely to be the chief ministerial candidate of the AIADMK.
Both Sasikala and Panneerselvam were locked in a battle to claim the chief minister’s seat after the demise of AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.