Jayalalithaa holds talks on successor in Bangalore jail

Among those who met her were FM O Panneerselvam, Excise Minister Natham Viswanathan, Transport Minister Senthil Balaji and former chief secretary Sheela Balakrishna

Former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa (she ceased to be CM from yesterday) today held discussions with some of her outgoing cabinet ministers on possible successor in the state. She no longer remains chief minister of the state after her conviction in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case. She has been disqualified as legislator of TN assembly.

The meeting lasted for an hour over breakfast in the visitors’ room of the Central Jail at Parappana Agrahara in Bangalore South East. She has been lodged in the same VIP cell, where former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa stayed for 24 days when he was arrested on charges of graft.

State finance minister O Panneerselvam, excise minister Natham Viswanathan, transport minister Senthil Balaji and former chief secretary Sheela Balakrishna met Jayalalithaa and sought her advice on how to elect a new leader, an AIADMK worker said.

“As leader of our party, Jayalalithaa advised cabinet colleagues and party leaders to convene a meeting of all legislators in Chennai later in the day and elect a leader to serve as our chief minister,” the worker told reporters.

Immediately after the meeting, the leaders led by Panneerselvam left for Chennai to attend the legislative party meeting of AIADMK. The party is likely to elect a new leader this evening. Panneerselvam was made interim chief minister of Tamil Nadu in 2000, when Jayalalithaa was convicted and jailed in another case.

AIADMK workers are speculating that Panneerselvam would be made chief minister yet again this time.

In case Panneerselvam is overlooked, other ministers like Balaji and Viswanathan or ex-top bureaucrat are being considered for the post.

Jayalalithaa’s legal counsels are expected to meet her later this evening to discuss remedies to secure bail in the high court for her release from the jail at the earliest.

Meanwhile, about 500 men and women from Tamil Nadu were stopped at the inter-state border at Hosur as they tried to gain access towards the central jail to express their support to Jayalalithaa and protest against her conviction in the DA case. They were carrying posters with pictures of 'Amma' (Jayalalithaa is popularly known in Tamil Nadu), the people from Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Hosur staged a demo on the city's outskirts. The police prevented them from going to the central jail due to the prohibitory orders in place around 1 km from the jail.

The Karnataka police department has deployed additional forces across the city, especially in areas where Tamil population reside in large numbers.