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Panneerselvam succeeded Jayalalithaa through a midnight coup staged by Sasikala?


Sasikala Natarajan, the aide and confidante of former Tamil Nadu chief minister maneuvered the AIADMK's transitioning away from Jayalalithaa to a new leadership that has her approval, NDTV reported.
In an exclusive story titled “Sasikala Natarajan's alleged midnight coup stunned Jayalalithaa's party”, the channel claimed that the 59-year-old aide of Jayalalithaa has called a meeting of all AIADMK legislators in the basement of Apollo hospital, where Jaya had been admitted around 70 days, on Monday. In the meeting, Sasikala allegedly ordered them to sign three blank A-4 pages that had nothing other than their names on it.
The report said each state legislator signed next to their name and no information was given on the purpuse the signature would be used. The sources, who don't want to be named, has also confined the channel that the legislators were also made to sign a register that would establish that a party conclave had been held.
At 2 pm, they were informed that Jayalalithaa had died and were asked to come for another meeting at 6 pm, in which top five senior ministers, including O Panneerselvam, were missing.
According to the sources, during this period, Ms Natarajan negotiated with these 'missing' leaders about transfer of power. The fact that legislators were not allowed to go out the meeting, even after her death news was mistakenly reported at around 5 pm by some local news channels, underscores that they were not given any chance to learn about the transfer of power to these five heavyweights.
They, the five missing ministers arrived after 11 pm only to announce her death and the decision that Panneerselvan has succeeded her.
Ms Natarajan, who lived with the former CM in her 50-crore-house, is believed to have staged the entire drama to bring her 'loyalist' Panneerselvam, who happened to be from her community, as the successor of Jayalalithaa.
Earlier, there were reports that Panneerselvam became lieutenant of Jayalalithaa, by the support of Sasikala.

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