Three time chief minister OPS joins league of deputy CMs

Not so coveted except for the nomenclature, the post has no constitutional powers unless devolved by the incumbent Chief Minister.

OPS will join the league of deputies and his contemporaries include the recently designated Sushil Kumar Modi of the BJP in Bihar and Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma in Uttar Pradesh.Similarly, KS Eshwarappa and R Ashok — were deputies to Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar in 2012.

A communiqué from the Raj Bhavan also observed that Panneerselvam was sworn in as a minister for the portfolios accorded for him and only to designate him as Deputy Chief Minister.

It has always been a political convenience for the ruling party to designate the post of a deputy to the CM and at times of crisis in the past. The deputy will never be able to perform the roles of the Chief Minister as enshrined in the Constitution even in the latter’s absence.

He will still be considered in the rank of a cabinet minister and his perks including the salary and other allowances would also be in equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.

Panneerselvam becomes number two in the 33-member cabinet of Edappadi K Palaniswami.

It may be recalled that Stalin became deputy to his father and party patriarch M Karunanidhi in the government in 2009 after the latter fell ill and remained in the post until the party was routed in 2011 state Assembly election.