Sasi uses Jaya’s car, ADMK flag
Sending the message that she is indeed in charge of the AIADMK, V.K. Sasikala sat on the front seat of the Toyota MUV used by the late J. Jayalalithaa as she rode the distance in Bengaluru, from the Victoria Hospital to a farmhouse in the outskirts, with the AIADMK flag fluttering on the bonnet on Sunday.
Acknowledging the cheerful welcome by supporters, who showered flower petals on the vehicle and raised slogans in her praise, Sasikala waved at them and greeted all those who were around even as she was escorted to her temporary residence by a convoy of vehicles.
As an augury to what might happen in Tamil Nadu politics, Sasikala’s nephew and the founder of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, explained the use of the AIADMK flag by saying that she was indeed the general secretary of the party.
It was a clear warning to all those leaders holding the reins of the AIADMK as many of them had openly said that Sasikala would have no place in the party anymore by reminding everyone that she had already been expelled following her going to jail.
But going by the hype and hoopla over her first whiff of freedom after four years of incarceration, Sasikala’s next long drive to Chennai in a motorcade, probably by February 7, could attract more supporters and her entry into Chennai, too, could be marked by more dramatic scenes.
She might even drop in at the resting place of Jayalalithaa, on which she had slapped thrice with her open palms taking a sabatham (vow) even as she was leaving to Bengaluru to start her jail sentence four years ago, before resuming her new political life that has the potential to splinter the AIADMK.
In the event of the present honchos of the AIADMK giving way to her to take over the reins of the party, as she would expect them to do, the party’s prospects in the polls that are due in about three months could be jeopardised in view of her unpopularity among the common people.
If the AIADMK leaders resist her taking charge, there is every possibility of many functionaries within the party gravitating towards Sasikala, creating differences and rifts in the otherwise monolithic party, benefiting the rivals in the elections.
It looks like Sasikala’s return to Chennai would only put the AIADMK in a cleft stick for she had implicitly stated that she is not going into a sulk or hibernation or oblivion but continuing from where she left four years ago.
It does not matter that she would not be able to contest elections for another six years. For even during her heyday, she was only calling the shots from behind the screens as a confidante of Jayalalithaa and earning the support of many party functionaries.
The only question, however, is if the AIADMK will be able to pull it up in the elections as it used to then without the charisma and magnetism of Jayalalithaa.