So what does OPS need to pull the rug from under Sasikala?

Panneerselvam has the support of 5 MLAs, 6 including him. He just needs 11 more to play spoilsport for Sasikala. Scroll down to see the math

Sasikala Natarajan carted 130 MLAs in three buses and parked them at a resort, 120 kilometres away from Chennai. Sasikala needs the support of 117 MLAs if she is to become chief minister of Tamil Nadu. O Paneerselvam too is a contender to the post, but doing the math it appears to be tough for him to get the numbers.

So here is the math, simplified:

Total seats: 234 (one seat vacant following Jayalalithaa's death, 1 Anglo-Indian nominated MLA)

AIADMK has: 135 (including 3 from alliance parties, who won on the AIADMK symbol and the speaker)

Sasikala has: 129 MLAs with her

To form the government, Sasikala needs: 117

To play spoilsport, Panneerselvam needs: 135 - 117 = 18

Panneerselvam already has 6 (including himself)

So, OPS needs: 18 - 6 = 12 MLAs

OneIndia News