On December 6, when the mortal remains of Tamil Nadu’s former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa were placed at the sprawling Rajaji hall on Mount Road for the public to pay their respect, she stood beside the casket for the whole day. Clad in a black saree, a grim faced Sasikala had a stoic expression and was seen weeping every now and then. It reminded of the scene at the same iconic Rajaji hall on December 25, 1987, when Jayalalithaa stood rock solid next to the remains of her mentor M.G. Ramachandran.
A few weeks after MGR’s funeral, an intriguing drama unfolded in the AIDMK. His wife Janaki took over as its leader and the party split into two factions only to be taken over by Jayalalithaa later. After three decades, a similar drama ensued in the portico of the Poes Garden in Chennai on Saturday.
It was a day of hectic activities at the AIADMK party office and Jayalalithaa’s residence. The day began as usual for the party cadres, who have been making a beeline to Poes Garden and to Jayalalithaa’s memorial to pay homage to their leader. But the real activity was at the party office, one kilometre from her residence.
Earlier in the day, party’s organising secretary C. Ponnaiyan announced that the spirit of both MGR and Jayalalithaa will guide the party in selecting a new general secretary. “Reports of dissent and issues within the party are false. There is no competition for the post of general secretary. MGR and Amma’s athma will guide us,” he said.
An hour later, the cabinet under Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam met at the state secretariat to discuss on the memorial construction for Jayalalithaa, to recommend her name for Bharath Ratna and also to request the centre to erect her statue in the parliament premises in Delhi. But all these was hijacked by the dramatic scenes at Poes Garden, where her close aide Sasikala was seen standing in the portico to share the grief with party cadres. Men and women queued up before the gates, walking in one by one, holding Sasikala’s hands, consoling her and then paying homage to Jayalalithaa.
In the meantime, senior functionaries and MLAs of the party made their way into the mighty Veda Nilayam. Chennai’s Mayor Saidai Sa. Duraisamy and party’s presidium chairman Madhusudhanan were seen urging Sasikala to step into the shoes of their Amma and guide them. “She was with our Amma for thirty years. She was with our leader during all difficult times. We want her to take over as the general secretary of the party and guide us. She is the only apt person to guide us,” says Duraisamy.
“She (Jayalalithaa) was for people. She was by the people. This movement was for the people. After her, the only person who can run the party is Chinnamma (Sasikala is fondly called as Chinnamma by party supporters). She was with our Amma always,” says Lok Sabha deputy speaker M. Thambidurai.
While the political acumen of Sasikala is yet to be tested in the grounds, the functionaries are of the opinion that she can take the party all along like how MGR and Jayalalithaa did, as she was a part of decision making all these years.
Sasikala will be careful to manoeuvre, as she had been through all these years, behind the scenes, handpicking every functionary in the party. Though she can afford to head the party, or even contest in an election, it remains to be seen whether she will be able to replace Jayalalithaa as a mass leader.
