Sasikala is back!

Four years ago, and Sasikala, the confidante of Jayalalithaa, effortlessly grabbed the ruling party’s power strings, AIADMK, managing to get herself elected as the leader of the legislature party. The Supreme Court dashed her hopes by upholding the conviction of the lower court on the corruption cases. Jaya escaped jail by her untimely death, but Sasikala had to proceed to the jail to serve four years in prison.

O Paneer Selvan, OPS, was handpicked by Sasikala as the interim CM. OPS had earlier served as the most loyal and obedient servant to Jayalalithaa when the latter served a jail term. He did not attempt a coup to retain his power but handed over the reins back to Jayalalithaa. OPS, therefore, was a trusted man and safe soft toy. But OPS did a U-turn and removed her as the General Secretary of the AIADMK, soon after being jailed.

The Edappadi Palaniswami, EPS,  in the meanwhile, deftly moved his dices and managed majority support to become the CM. The intervening ten days between Jaya’s death and the swearing-in of EPS would have shamed any thrilling soap opera. A sulking OPS grudgingly accepted the Deputy CM’s post but was waiting to strike with the arrival of Sasikala. OPS today is perceived as the BJP’s man in AIADMK by many.

Palaniswamy’s government built an exquisite memorial for Jaya at Marina beach, where memorials could outnumber the sand. Sasikala had sworn at Jaya’s cemetery while proceeding to serve her sentence. The fear of Sasikala returning to the memorial straight from Bengaluru has prompted the government to shut the memorial down. Thus, the government has admitted the strength of Sasikala and her ability to churn the already muddy political waters of Tamil Nadu.

With her nephew, Dinakaran, leader of AMMK, though had won a landslide victory from Chennai in his debut, his party tasted defeat in all the 37 seats contested in 2019 LS elections, despite garnering 8% of the votes. Dinakaran is now marginalised, and Sasikala has to take the AIADMK bull by the horn if she aspires to return to power. She could alternatively join the AMMK and lead the battle. 

The EPS and OPS duo have reconciled and will take on the might of Sasikala. The AIADMK party has suspended several Sasikala sympathisers from within their party. Today, the 7th February Sasikala re-enters Tamil Nadu. EPS has been categorical that Sasikala has no place in AIADMK.

There are two theories around. The BJP central leadership, peeved with AIADMK’s stepmotherly attitude, is quietly pushing Sasikala as the disrupter to gain a better hold with the AIADMK party. The second theory is just the opposite, with the BJP thwarting all attempts of a Sasikala comeback into the powerplay of TN politics. The barometer is to watch the pet and opposing media in the next few days to decipher the politicking glyphs.

DMK, led by Stalin, were jubilant with their ‘already won,’ attitude, that has been dampened by Palaniswamy’s boisterous Rs.12,100 crores farm loan waiver. The TN voters are long used to freebies and have shown high loyalty in not betraying their donors. The announcement keeps the needle of win suddenly tilting towards the AIADMK. However, Sasikala factor has to be seen.

The first elections, without their respective stars alive, Karunanidhi of DMK  and Jayalalithaa of AIADMK will be thrilling indeed.

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide Voix