In a coup of sorts, Jayalalithaa’s former aide VK Sasikala, who has been kept out of the AIADMK by former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, sent a strong message on the occasion of the commencement of the party’s golden jubilee celebrations, by invoking party founder MG Ramachandran and his actress-wife VN Janaki (who was also Tamil Nadu chief minister for a brief period of 23 days).
While attending a series of functions at the residences of MGR in T. Nagar and Ramapuram recently, Sasikala unveiled a plaque declaring herself as the ‘party general secretary’. She also had lunch with kids of the MGR School for Speech and Hearing Impaired in Ramapuram, spent time with relatives of former chief minister VN Janaki, hoisted the party flag and garlanded statues of MGR.
It was apparent that all these efforts were part of a well-thought-out strategy because relatives of VN Janaki were not only present, they were part of the Sasikala show all the way. Janaki’s family members had largely been ignored by the ‘official’ AIADMK group who wanted to be seen as Jayalalithaa loyalists. Jayalalithaa had opposed the candidature of Janaki for chief ministership after the death of MGR in December 1987.
Even though the ruling clique in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has denied Sasikala entry into the party or its headquarters in Chennai, and expelled party members for getting in touch with her, Sasikala managed to draw attention with the series of events, aimed at building her image as an apostle of peace and unity who wants warring factions to come together to take on ‘arch-rival’ DMK.
There are sections in the AIADMK that believe the fissures in the party and the contest by a rival group like the AMMK, led by TTV Dinakaran (Sasikala’s nephew), were responsible for the party’s losses in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly election this year.
Sasikala Calls Herself ‘General Secretary’
In a symbolic move, indicating that VK Sasikala is preparing herself for a prolonged legal and perception battle for the control of the AIADMK, she unveiled a plaque at MGR’s T. Nagar residence that called her ‘party general secretary’. The AIADMK, as expected, has filed a police complaint against Sasikala.
Meanwhile, a case is still pending in the court over her claim as the AIADMK general secretary as she was unanimously elected the party chief after Jayalalithaa’s death. Her political moves over the last few days, including visits to the Jayalalithaa memorial, something which she was prevented from doing during the last days of the Edappadi Palaniswami government in Tamil Nadu, indicate that she wants to take the emotional route to establish a connect with the party cadre.
The AIADMK government had then also sealed the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa and announced that it would be turned into a public memorial. The move was seen as an attempt to prevent Sasikala from occupying the Poes Garden residence. Sasikala’s new house, coming up right in front of Jayalalithaa’s residence, was sealed too.
While Sasikala is not the kind of crowd-puller that Jayalalithaa was, she has clearly and cleverly chosen visual and digital media for her not-so-subtle campaign.
As part of a carefully crafted script, Sasikala garlanded MGR’s statue and the portrait of his wife Janaki at his Ramapuram residence amid loud slogans of “Puratchi Thaay” (Revolutionary Mother)—just as Jayalalithaa accepted the title of ‘Puratchi Thalaivi’ (Revolutionary Leader) after the death of MGR (Puratchi Thalaivar). The choice of the title is, therefore, a calculated move to cast her in the Jaya mould.
The ease with which Sasikala was allowed access at the Ramapuram residence of MGR and later at his T. Nagar house showed her preparation to steal the show—the party’s golden jubilee celebration is ideally a time for its leadership to display strength.
In spending time with the relatives of MGR at the Ramapuram residence, she indicated success in establishing networks with those close to the party founder. It was also symbolic that she chose to garland a statue of Janaki, who is almost a forgotten figure among the mainstream AIADMK leadership.
At Jaya’s memorial, Sasikala said she has ‘unburdened’ herself and the party has a bright future. MGR and Jayalalithaa, she said, will “save the party and cadre”.
Brace for an Intense Fight
While Sasikala may have scored a point in optics, getting the support of the AIADMK cadre will be a challenge. Given the party leadership’s strict expulsion policy for those trying to connect with Sasikala, not many second-rung leaders in the party have summoned the courage to publicly express their support to her. Fear of reprisal and expulsion has created a stumbling block for Sasikala.
Early this year, the AIADMK had filed a police complaint against her after her car was seen with the party flag. Interestingly, during her recent visit to Jaya memorial, her car was once again seen with the party flag; many Sasi supporters too were seen waving the party’s flag.
Sasikala has announced that she will soon go on a statewide tour to mobilize public opinion in favour of the party, a move criticized by AIADMK spokesperson and former minister D. Jayakumar. “Be it yesterday, today or tomorrow, she has no place in the AIADMK,” said Jayakumar. Sasikala and her clan, he said, are a ‘rejected’ lot and their attempt to create ‘confusion’ and derive mileage to ‘take control’ of the party would remain a pipe dream.
In a state where theatre and melodrama rule, Sasikala will continue her campaign, projecting herself as a close ally of Jayalalithaa. But she would face stiff challenge from the current AIADMK leadership, particularly Edappadi Palanaswami.
The losses suffered by the AIADMK in the recent elections are a huge boost to the Sasikala camp. The stage is set for an intense battle between these two groups.
The writer is a veteran journalist and historian. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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