Chennai: As the word from New Delhi trickled in that ‘Chinnamma’ VK Sasikala is out of the picture in Tamil Nadu’s electoral scene for a good 10 years, the motley crowd hanging outside ‘caretaker’ chief minister O Panneerselvam’s residence at Chennai’s Greenways Road erupted in joy.
The customary song and dance followed, and in a matter of minutes ‘OPS Anna’ – as he has been referred to by his loyalists – got a new title in grand Tamil style: ‘Singha Thaliavan’ or The Lion King.
The crowd suddenly couldn’t have enough of the mild-mannered man.
“Dumtha Lakadi Dummava, OPS-na Summava?” (And what did you think, OPS is a pushover?)
“Kaanume kaanume Sasikalaave Kaanume” (Did you see, did you see, did you see Sasikala anywhere?)
“Nethi Varaykum Ayamma, Neeyellan CM-aa?” (Until yesterday you were house maid, now you want to be CM?)
Slogans were being instantly invented, and OPS seemed to have conjured every virtue overnight.
As things stand, the OPS camp has only around 10 MLAs and 12 MPs, but that trickle could soon be a torrent as the Sasikala camp struggles to emerge from the shock of the SC verdict. Already, there are unconfirmed reports from Chennai that 50 MLAs have reached out to OPS camp.
His skills will now be tested at the floor of the Tamil Nadu Assembly where he will need support of the 118 of the 135 AIADMK legislators (one vacant after Jayalalithaa’s death) to win the trust vote in the 235-member Assembly.
So is OPS capable of that? Well, if his past is anything to go by, he is a master in the art of lying low and leaping in the dark.
From his humble beginnings as a tea seller in hometown Periyankulam to the next claimant at Fort St George – the seat of power in Tamil Nadu – Panneerselvam has ducked every adversity with patience, and waited for fortune to come his way.
There were many who predicted his immediate fall when he was appointed the caretaker CM as Jayalalithaa went to jail in the DA case. It’s tough to be a CM and do your work, without someone in the party snitching to Amma that OPS is coming on his own, they said. But OPS survived, dashing between Bengaluru and Chennai, to get Amma’s stamp on all his decisions.
And when she finally exited the picture, he continued with his game of obedience as Sasikala took over the party. While Team Sasikala was plotting her elevation as the next chief minister, she having already been elevated as the new AIADMK General Secretary, a sudden crisis erupted in the heart of Chennai. Thousands gathered in Marina Beach demanding an overturn of the ban on the bull-taming sport of Jallikattu.
OPS a man whose luck never seems to run out — earned some praises on the way he handled the Marina uprising. For one, the expectations were not much. But he ensured New Delhi lets him issue an ordinance to make it legal once again, and when the Marina crowd refused to disperse, he managed to carry through a police action without any massive damages.
All the while Panneerselvam has been quietly building up his image among people and AIADMK cadre even when Jayalalithaa was alive. Under him, bureaucrats and officials were said to be more approachable as opposed to what was seen as an opaque administration system. His decision to stay back in Delhi after the initial response from the Prime Minister’s Office that it could do little towards ensuring Jallikattu is allowed proved, say analysts, his mettle.
On Tuesday, as his coronation as a “full” CM seemed almost certain, a new huge poster came up at his residence. It showed OPS at the MGR Memorial, with both MG Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa blessing him from above.
Comments
0 comment