Tamil Nadu CM Paneerselvam chairs first Cabinet meeting after Jayalalithaa's demise

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Paneerselvam had on Thursday met Jayalalithaa's confidante Sasikala Natarajan at the Poes Garden residence on Thursday.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Paneerselvam, who assumed the top office after the demise of incumbent and ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo J Jayalalithaa days ago, on Saturday chaired the first meeting of his Cabinet at the state secretariat in Chennai.

Panneerselvam had on Thursday met Jayalalithaa's confidante Sasikala Natarajan at the Poes Garden residence of the late AIADMK leader on Thursday.

Party officials said senior ministers and party leaders were also present at the meeting, indicating the significance of Sasikala in the AIADMK although she does not hold any party post.

Meanwhile, AIADMK spokesperson C Ponnaiyan today said the party would have a new general secretary soon in a decision that would be unanimous. The general secretary`s post was earlier occupied by Jayalalithaa.

Jayalalithaa, 68, died on December 05 after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Apollo Hospitals while undergoing treatment for ailments since September 22.

The Cabinet meeting comes against the backdrop of the allegation of main opposition DMK in the past more than two months that the government was "non-functional".

PMK had on December 07 said that the government administration which was in a "limbo" in recent past should "start functioning now" with Panneerselvam at the helm.

According to a political analyst, post-Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK does not seem to have a charismatic leader who can fetch votes and also be a glue.