The power drama in Tamil Nadu is ripe for a TV script with Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam resigning for the third time to pave way for a woman leader, party General Secretary V.K. Sasikala, and later being removed from the post of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) treasurer by the same lady who accused him of alliance with the rival party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Bringing the internal conflict within AIADMK to the public forum, Panneerselvam launched an open revolt against Sasikala's authority in the party at former and late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa's memorial late last night. While Tamil Nadu politics continues to hold the attention of the nation, here's everything you must know about Jayalalithaa's close aide, personal friend and soul sister, Sasikala:
- Sasikala was born in 1956 to an agriculturist couple in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. A school dropout from Mannargudi, she grew up with her five siblings.
- She married M. Natarajan, a public relations officer in the state's Directorate of Information and Public Relations, in 1973. DMK president and the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi presided over their wedding.
- Sasikala was introduced to Jayalalithaa in 1980 by IAS officer-turned-politician V.S. Chandralekha on the request of her public relations officer and Sasikala's husband, Natarajan.
- In the 1980s, Sasikala used to run a video renting and recording shop where she used to shoot private functions. In mid-1980s, Sasikala got the contract to cover one of Jayalalithaa's, who was then the propaganda secretary of the AIADMK, party events. Jayalalithaa was so impressed with the video coverage that she started borrowing cassettes from Sasikala's video parlour in Mylapore, bringing them closer.
- Sasikala remained a trusted confidante of Jayalalithaa even in difficult times. Following the death of Jayalalithaa's mentor and then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran in 1987, Sasikala and her family moved into Veda Nilayam, Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden, residence to take care of the latter and manage her household.
- In 1990, Natarajan was accused of intervening in party affairs and was driven out from the Poes Garden residence by Jayalalithaa. She has said, "He is dominating me instead of obeying my orders". Then, Sasikala chose her friend over her husband and stayed back at Poes Garden to be with Jayalalithaa.
- Jayalalithaa adopted Sasikala's family as her own and her nephew, V.N. Sudhakaran, as her foster son. Jayalalithaa was heavily criticised for spending crores on Sudhakaran's wedding where both friends, Jayalalithaa and Sasikala, dressed like twins in similar red sarees with matching jewellery.
- In March 2011, Jayalalithaa and Sasikala's friendship went through a rough patch when the latter, along with her family members, released the candidate list for the assembly elections without Jayalalithaa's signature. Although the list was withdrawn within a day, the breach of trust saw Jayalalithaa expelling Sasikala and 13 of her relatives, including her husband, from the party for conspiring against her, in December 2011. She also asked Sasikala to leave the Poes Garden residence along with her family members. However, Sasikala filled the gap between friends by severing all ties with her husband and family, swearing loyalty to Jayalalithaa. She was readmitted in the party within 100 days of her expulsion.
- As a co-accused in disproportionate assets case, Sasikala had been in jail with Jayalalithaa for a brief period in 2014 when they were sentenced to four years in jail by a trial court in Bangalore, but the High Court had acquitted them. The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it could deliver verdict on the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa and Sasikala next week. However, proceedings against Jayalalithaa would stand abated because of her death.
- Although Sasikala's involvement in AIADMK workings increased considerably after Jayalalithaa's health deteriorated over the last decade, she never held any official post in the party or government.
- Sasikala, along with Jayalalithaa's nephew Deepak Jayakumar, performed the last rites of Jayalalithaa, who passed away on December 6, 2016. Also, after Jayalalithaa's death, Natarajan and his family, who were earlier expelled by the late chief minister, made a dramatic reappearance.
- On February 5, a meeting of AIADMK MLAs unanimously selected Sasikala as the legislative party leader and was elected to become Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
