In a major development in the ongoing power wrangling in Tamil Nadu, serving education minister K Pandiarajan has joined the caretaker chief minister O Panneerselvam camp this afternoon. He is the first serving minister to switch sides in favour of Panneerselvam camp. Till recently, he was considered to be a vociferous heavy weight backing ad hoc General Secretary of the AIADMK Ms VK Sasikala. He was one of the key members of the delegation that accompanied Ms Sasikala during her meeting with Governor Vidyasagar Rao on Thursday.

Meanwhile, two of the party MPs have also pledged their support to the Panneerselvam camp. Mr Ashok Kumar from Krishnagiri Parliamentary constituency and PR Sundaram from Namakkal extended their support to Mr Panneerselvam after meeting him at his official residence in Chennai today.

As the support base is slowly eroding among MLAs, agency report says Ms Sasikala has written to Governor seeking appointment to meet him along with all the MLAs who support her. Meanwhile, Governor Vidyasagar Rao is understood to be weighing various options before him in the wake of the power struggle that has erupted within the ruling AIADMK.