Panneerselvam camp urges Speaker to have secret ballot of confidence

In yet another major development in Tamil Nadu politics, former chief minister O. Panneerselvam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leaders backing him met Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal here on Friday and urged him to have a secret ballot for confidence vote.

Earlier in the day, the Panneerselvam camp sacked jailed general secretary V.K. Sasikala from the primary membership of the party.

The sacking order was passed and authorised by former party Presidium Chairman E. Madhusudanan. In a statement, Madhusudanan said that he was sacking Sasikala from the AIADMK's primary membership as she had brought disrepute to the party.

Madhusudanan also sacked AIADMK deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dinakaran and S. Venkatesh, relatives of Sasikala, citing that they had been readmitted to the party without proper authority.

The political stalemate in Tamil Nadu finally came to an end when Palanisamy took oath as 13th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Thursday. A total of 31 other MLAs were also sworn-in.