No decision on TN Govt. formation yet

As the Tamil Nadu political crisis deepened, no decision on government formation in the state has been taken yet.

Sources said, as of now neither interim Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam nor E. Palanisamy has been called to form government.

Tamil Nadu Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao heard competing pitches last night from within the ruling party of the state over who should be the Chief Minister.

The Governor first met with Palanisamy, who claimed the support of 125 state legislators on MLAS.

Next up was Panneerselvam, who says he has 11 MLAs.

Both want to take a trust vote in the legislature and presented the Governor with a list of legislators supporting them.

Setting aside on earlier Karnataka High Court order, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court earlier on Tuesday convicted AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala Natarajan in connection with a 19-year old disproportionate assets case.

She has been ordered to surrender to the law enforcement authorities immediately to serve the remainder of her four-year jail term.

She also will not be able to contest elections for 10 years or hold public office.

The verdict comes in the backdrop of the ongoing power struggle within the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu - between Sasikala and Panneerselvam.

The disproportionate assets case that posed a legal hurdle against Sasikala's taking over as the Chief Minister dates back to 1996.

Late former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and her two relatives, Ilavarasi and Sudhagaran were convicted in the case that alleged that the former chief minister owned assets far exceeding her known sources of income.