After her death on 5 December 2016, Jayalalithaa's long-time friend V. K. Sasikala was selected unanimously as the General Secretary of the party on 16 December 2016. On February 5, 2017, she was selected as the leader of the legislative assembly as chief minister. O. Panneerselvam rebelled against V. K. Sasikala and reported that he had been compelled to resign as Chief Minister, bringing in a new twist to Tamil Nadu Politics. Due to a conviction in Disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa, V.K.Sasikala was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment in the Bengaluru Central Prison. Before that, she appointed Edappadi K. Palaniswami as legislative party leader (Chief Minister).