A plea urging her to step into the shoes of Jayalalithaa was made by a delegation of leaders including AIADMK presidium chairman E Madhusudanan and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Thambidurai when they called on Sasikala or 'Chinnamma' as she is referred to by party workers at the Poes Garden residence of the late chief minister.
"After Amma it is only Chinnamma. Chinnamma follows Amma's footsteps," said Thambidurai, whose name was doing the round for the post, adding that he told Sasikala that the party and welfare of the people was in her hands.
"I urged her to come forward to take up responsibility of being party General Secretary and guide us," he told Jaya Plus Tamil TV channel.
"This is a people's party. It was Puratchi Thalaivi Amma who functioned understanding the people's pulse. Chinnamma follows Amma's footsteps. Hence, leaving no scope for a void, Chinnamma should immediately assume the position of party general secretary," he said, adding he was confident that she would accept the request.
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He said the party is of the "unanimous" opinion that it was Sasikala who should lead the party.
Thambidurai asserted that there are no two opinions in this regard in the party. All party workers, district secretaries, MPs, MLAs and all other functionaries were one on the issue.
He said like Jayalalithaa who fought for the State's rights and people's welfare, it is "Chinnamma" who had the "strength and ability" to work for welfare of the people, the State and the party.
In what appeared to be an orchestrated campaign, a host of state ministers, including Dindigul C Srinivasan and Electricity Minister P Thangamani expressed similar sentiments in interviews to the channel.
They urged Sasikala to lead AIADMK and scotch "rumours" at this critical juncture for the party in view of the demise of Jayalalithaa.
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