Ottakkara Panneerselvam sworn in as new Tamil Nadu CM

CHENNAI: He’s the trusted lieutenant and staunch loyalist, who stood in for party chief J Jayalalithaa thrice during crises. With her passing, the question is whether the AIADMK will repose the same faith in Ottakkara Panneerselvam, who took over her duties after her hospitalisation.
Shortly after the announcement about CM J Jayalalithaa passing away, finance minister O Panneerselvam was sworn in as CM by Governor Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan.Earlier, AIADMK MLAs elected OPS as legislature party leader at a meeting held at the party headquarters in the city. The party MLAs arrived at Raj Bhavan around 12.40am for the brief ceremony held in a grim and sombre atmosphere.
The decision to anoint OPS as Jayalalithaa’s successor came after day-long deliberations.
He’s now the party’s unanimous choice of legislature party leader. And, the Theni strongman stands a chance as TN’s eighth CM.
OPS has come a long way since he caught Jayalalithaa’s attention nearly a decade ago when she visited Andipatti constituency in Theni district to file her nomination for an assembly election. His followers say he’s a devoted party man, detractors term him opportunist. But on that April 2006 day when he pulled out a spotless white handkerchief to wipe the carpet on which Jayalalithaa was to set foot, OPS earned his leader’s lasting trust.
He has prostrated before Jayalalithaa, deified her and wept for her. He meticulously followed orders, coordinated with bureaucrats and proved himself a mature leader and team player. This may well be why the soft-spoken, unassuming Theni chieftain was made caretaker CM twice – in September 2001 when Jayalalithaa was forced to step down as CM during her trial in a graft case, again in September 2014 when she was convicted by a Karnataka trial court in a disproportionate assets case.
On October 12, 22 days after Jayalalithaa was hospitalised, OPS was again given charge of her portfolios, including home and police, besides the task of presiding over cabinet meetings.
His two terms as caretaker CM were non-controversial and insignificant and the opposition called him a puppet.
They accused him of doing little and merely “following orders from the top”. OPS was careful not to sit on the CM’s chair, staying in her shadow ---making no move that might remotely throw him in the spotlight. In September 2014, he pulled out Jayalalithaa’s picture from his pocket, placing it in front of him as he took a tearful oath as CM for the second time.
The tea vendor-turned-politician also won the trust of Sasikalaa, when he managed the LS poll campaign of Sasikalaa’s nephew, T T V Dinakaran from Periakulam.
Sasikalaa is likely to steer his political future, both also of the same caste --- Thevar. OPS’s climb was rapid. But through his tenures as stand-in CM, he never failed to convey he was only “a temporary arrangement, a glorified office boy”.
This February, OPS briefly fell from grace as rumours about ‘secret’ businesses and the growing clout of his brother O Raja and his elder son Ravindranath Kumar in Theni reportedly reached Jayalalithaa. His associates holding key posts were replaced.
The Theni party unit was rejigged. But his loyalty and caste affiliation earned him a reprieve – he was once again hoisted to the hot seat when Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao handed over Jayalalithaa’s portfolios to him.