Deepa Jayakumar, the niece of late Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa, announced on Tuesday that she was quitting politics as she did not have a proper person to guide her.
Deepa said her party, MGR Amma Deepa Peravai, was merged with the ruling AIADMK in March itself. Members of her party wanting to continue politics could join the AIADMK, she said.
Deepa described her short stint as a “bad experience” and that she had been “cheated” after she floated her party.
Deepa launched her party in February 2017, two months after the death of Jayalalithaa, and made an unsuccessful attempt to contest the RK Nagar bypolls in December that year.
“It is not possible for women to hear abusive remarks,” she said, adding that people should stop posting degrading comments against women.
Deepa said after the formation of her party, there were instances where people used its name to cheat and she was not prepared for all that.
After the death of Jayalalithaa and the split of the AIADMK, a section of party workers had urged Deepa to become the general secretary of the AIADMK. However, her support base eroded once the warring factions of the ruling party patched up.
Deepa had said she had the “moral and legal rights” to stake claim to the late leader's Poes Garden property in Chennai.
In January this year, Deepa had expressed willingness to tie-up with the AIADMK, saying her outfit belonged to the ruling party and even her followers were in favour of the alliance.
