The mood at the Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu was one of mourning as governor K Rosaiah swore in a new chief minister and an old cabinet.  O Panneerselvam stepped in to take over the reins of the government after AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa was convicted in an 18-year-old corruption case and consequently disqualified from holding public office. Armed with a photo of Jayalalithaa in his shirt pocket, a tearful Panneerselvam took the oath of office followed by equally distraught ministers who has been earlier appointed by Jayalalithaa.

Panneerselvam, now the 28th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, has been the Finance Minister since the AIADMK government came back to power in the state in 2011. Called OPS in political circles, Panneerselvam comes from an agricultural family and used to run a tea shop in Periyakulam town in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu. He got his start in politics in the Periyakulam Municipality and became its chairman in 1996 – the same year that the corruption charges began to emerge against Jayalalithaa. In 2001, Panneerselvam was elected to the state assembly and Jayalalithaa made him the Revenue Minister.

That very year he was unexpectedly bumped up to the chief minister’s post. Jayalalithaa had to demit office in 2001 having been convicted in a scam involved land belonging to the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (or TANSI) and she nominated Panneerselvam in her stead. While in office for six months, Panneerselvam left the actual running of government to Amma, as Jayalalithaa is known, refusing to take meetings or decisions without her express permission. A devout follower of his party leader, Panneerselvam even refused to occupy Jayalalithaa’s chair. After reprising his role as Chief Minister on Monday, he once again refused to use the chambers of the head of the state government and chose to work out of his own office.

Almost immediately after assuming office in Chennai, Panneerselvam and several other AIADMK leaders rushed to the airport to catch a flight to Bangalore. Jayalalithaa has been in the Parappana Agrahara central jail in Bangalore since the verdict was pronounced against her on Saturday. Her lawyers filed an appeals in the Karnataka High Court on Monday for a suspension of her four-year jail sentence and against the conviction.

Here are some new and old social media observations of Tamil Nadu's new chief minister.