Let the Tamil Nadu Governor weigh in

Too much time has already passed since prominent AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam — or OPS as he is commonly referred to — submitted his resignation as chief minister of Tamil Nadu to governor C. Vidyasagar Rao and not much has happened at the gubernatorial end, creating some doubts as to what may be on the governor’s mind.

It hasn’t helped that Mr Rao is the governor of Maharashtra holding additional charge of Tamil Nadu, and has been busy city-hopping and giving priority to personal engagements such as attending a wedding instead of giving the impression of doing due diligence in Tamil Nadu.

The absence of action at the governor’s end is leading to unhealthy speculation in the public mind to the extent that some are led to wonder if Central rule is on the cards.

The scope for such thinking needs to be scotched right away. There is no breakdown of constitutional authority or constitutional processes in the state. Had the governor moved soon enough, there may have been a chief minister in place by now.

Mr Rao could have done one of two things. If there was a letter from the AIADMK parliamentary party choosing V.K. Sasikala as leader and she had staked claim to form the government, he could have asked her to establish claim on the floor of the House with immediate effect.

If that was not the case and there was no official communication from the AIADMK parliamentary party in the context of projecting a leader, the governor should have invited OPS, who also staked a claim, to take a floor test to justify his claim.

In the event, the governor chose neither course. He gave the impression of waiting for the Supreme Court verdict in a disproportionate assets case involving Ms Sasikala before deciding what to do. But waiting on the timetable of the judiciary is not the governor’s concern. The only consideration that should have weighed with him is whether the person invited to form government was capable of offering a “stable” government.

With Ms Sasikala not having been invited in the first instance, it may be practical for the governor to invite a prospective leader who is already a member of the legislature, rather than wait for further political circumstances to unfold. In effective terms, this may mean calling OPS.

Should the caretaker CM fail to produce the numbers on the floor of the House, the governor could, in the first instance, consider exploring other options from within the largest party in the legislator. After all, the AIADMK had won a massive victory in the Assembly election only months earlier, although under a very popular leader who is now deceased. Other options become feasible only afterward.