AIADMK merger:O Panneerselvam to be made Deputy CM of Tamil Nadu

Chennai

Post the announcement about the merger of the ruling party of Tamil Nadu, former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and K Pandiarajan had been inducted into the council of ministers today at the party headquarters. 

O Panneerselvam in addition to being Deputy CM has been allocated with Finance,  Rural Development and Housing portfolios. Ma Foi K Pandiarajan will handle Tamil development.

Udumalai K Radhakrishnan had been given the portfolio of Animal Husbandry and Ministry of Youth Welfare and Sports Development has been designated to P Balakrishna Reddy. 

C VE Shanmugam will additionally hold the Ministry of Mines and Minerals apart from the current portfolios. 

No one has been dropped from the cabinet, party strength could now go upto more than 30 MLA. They will be sworn in at Raj Bhavan at 4.30 pm.

Earlier EPS addressing party functionaries at the party headquarters said a 11-member party guidance committee would be set up soon while OPS would be the party coordinator with EPS and KP Munusamy being the joint and deputy coordinators. 

Terming the AIADMK merger as historic, Palaniswami called on party functionaries to work unitedly for the continuation of the legacy founded by MGR and developed by J Jayalalithaa. 

EPS said the merger was a hammer blow for those who expected the government to fall. The merger was the fulfillment of the wishes of cadres who wanted the party to be united, he said and added that the wish of J Jayalalithaa that party rule continue for 100 years should also be brought to reality. 

Earlier today, 16 AIADMK MLAs reached TTV Dinkaran's house raising the speculations of hiccups or delay in the merger. 

The development comes days after the Tamil Nadu government accepted the AIADMK (PTA)'s two key demands for merger — a probe into former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's death and conversion of her Poes Garden residence into a memorial. 

The decision on Sasikala’s formal expulsion from the party is expected.

Edited and compiled by Vandhana Srinivasan