Who shall be the new Tamil Nadu CM? AIADMK MLAs to decide today

A day after their party supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was convicted and sentenced in the Rs 66.65 crore illegal asset case, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLAs are likely to meet here on Sunday to propose a candidate for the chief minister’s post.

Party sources said the meeting is likely to be held later on Sunday and all the legislators have been asked to be present.

Majority of the ministers of the Jayalalithaa ministry and MLAs have been in Bangalore since Saturday to know the outcome of the Special Court verdict. Some of the names of Jayalalithaa’s cabinet ministers including O Panneerselvam, Natham Viswanathan and V Senthil Balaji besides former Chief Secretary and Advisor to Tamil Nadu government, Sheela Balakrishnan are doing the rounds for the top post.

However, Jayalalithaa could still spring a surprise by possibly nominating a more not-so-known face.

Meanwhile, normalcy was returning to the state which witnessed sporadic violence in the aftermath of Jayalalithaa’s conviction and sentencing, police said.

Bus services, suspended in many parts of the state, were being resumed in a phased manner though operations to Bangalore were still not being taken up.

Jayalalithaa was handed down four year simple prison term and Rs 100 crore fine by the court in a verdict that sent shock waves among AIADMK cadres.

Jayalalithaa’s close associate N Sasikala, her relatives V N Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi, who are the other accused in the case were also given four-year prison term and slapped a fine of Rs 10 crore each.

Image: Police men hold an AIADMK supporter who tried to immolate himself in Coimbatore on Saturday in protest over conviction of the party supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha by a Bengaluru court. Photograph: PTI photo