Panneerselvam, other ministers queue up to meet Sasikalaa

CHENNAI: J Jayalalithaa may be gone. But Poes Garden in Chennai continues to be the centre of gravity of AIADMK as well as the state administration. On Thursday, chief minister O Panneerselvam and other ministers visited Veda Nilayam, Jayalalithaa's residence, to meet Sasikalaa. The CM dropped in at 11am with colleagues Edappadi K Palaniswami, Dindigul C Sreenivasan, P Thangamani and S P Velumani.

Subsequently, more ministers visited Veda Nilayam. The visit assumes significance in the wake of Sasikalaa asserting her role in the party and the government.

Speculations were rife over the meeting, as the post of general secretary is now vacant with the death of Jayalalithaa. The party's general council has a decisive say in electing the next general secretary. "The senior ministers could have met Sasikalaa, but those who came later sat for a while and left," said a party source. The ministers left a couple of hours later, but continued to keep off their chambers at the secretariat. They may return to work on Friday.

Interestingly, K A Sengottaiyan, a veteran politician and an incumbent member of the state legislature, too was spotted at Poes Garden. In 2012, the Jayalalithaa loyalist was thrown out from the cabinet, presumably after he fell out of the good books of Sasikalaa. "He was at Garden on Wednesday and Thursday," another source said, indicating that various factions are trying to reach a compromise to keep things going. It remains to be seen if others who suffered a similar fate will attempt to return.

Meanwhile, posters have sprung up near party headquarters pleading Sasikalaa to carry on Jayalalithaa's legacy. But giant-size photos of her were found torn off in a couple of posters.

While Jayalalithaa reinducted Sasikalaa and allowed her as a member of executive committee, her husband M Natarajan and 12 other relatives were out of the party realm. On Tuesday at the funeral, Natarajan was seen chatting with PM Narendra Modi.