‘Old Faithful’ Panneerselvam to stand in for jaya again

This is the second time when Panneerselvam would be sworn-in as stand-in chief minister for his leader. Panneerselvam was chosen by Jayalalithaa in a similar situation in 2001. The decision to appoint him was taken at a meeting of AIADMK MLAs at the party headquarters in Chennai on Sunday where his name was unanimously proposed for the top post. Soon after his appointment, he drove to Raj Bhavan to call on Governor K Rosaiah to convey the party’s decision. Panneerselvam was accompanied by housing minister R Vaithilingam, electricity minister Natham Viswanathan and highways minister Edappadi Palanisamy. Described as ‘Mr Faithful’, Panneerselvam belongs to the dominant Mudukulathor community and is a trusted lieutenant of Jayalalithaa. The name of Panneerselvam was understood to have communicated by Jayalalithaa in the court itself after the verdict was pronounced on Saturday. Panneerselvam was handpicked by Jayalalithaa in 2001 when SC struck down her appointment as chief minister.