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A day ahead of chairing Tamil Nadu government’s first Cabinet meeting, the state’s CM, O Panneerselvam met J Jayalalithaa's confidante Sasikala Natarajan at the Poes Garden residence of the late leader on Friday, reports NDTV.
Signalling the importance of Sasikala in the party, the new CM of Tamil Nadu was for a second day accompanied by several top ministers for the meeting with the new power centre of AIADMK.
These meetings come amid increased speculation that Natarajan will be soon announced as the party’s new general secretary, a post that Amma held for over two decades.
Although there is no clarity on the agenda of the meetings, reports suggest that the major issue discussed was party leadership after Jayalalithaa’s demise.
According to AIADMK officials, a large number of MLAs are loyal to Sasikala as she had a say in the selection of candidates in the elections and also in appointing others to party posts.
Sasikala, who has for years worked behind the scenes in the party has taken centre stage after Amma’s death earlier this week. She was seen on TV screens across the country next to the lifeless body of Jayalalithaa at her funeral earlier this week.
Controversially, her family was there too. Sasikala's husband M Natarajan, who was banished from Poes Garden by Jayalalithaa for acting as a proxy power centre from inside the CM’s residence, also paid tribute to her.
Speaking about this, party spokesperson Dr V Maitreyan said:
Sasikala is the backbone of Poes Garden... At this moment of grief, she (Sasikala) is allowed to have her family with her.
However, this move has not gone down well with many in the party, and it is expected that if Sasikala pitches for the General Secretary post it may not be all smooth sailing. She is also expected to have competition from other interested parties.
(With Inputs from NDTV, IANS.)
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