E-Paper
Sasikala returns to Chennai after 23-hour journey, vows political return
She repeatedly stopped to greet her supporters, who had gathered in large numbers to welcome her along the route that normally takes six hours to cover
Expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader VK Sasikala has arrived in Chennai after a 23-hour journey from Bengaluru, 350 km away. She repeatedly stopped to greet her supporters, who had gathered in large numbers to welcome her along the route that normally takes six hours to cover.
Sasikala announced her return to politics during the journey after serving a four-year jail sentence in a disproportionate assets case and recovering from Covid-19. She called for a united AIADMK to challenge a common rival, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has been out of power since 2011. The AIADMK has maintained she will not be re-inducted into the party. The AIADMK expelled Sasikala, who was a close aide to late former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, while she was in prison.
AIADMK’s breakaway faction, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), and her loyalists within the party she cultivated over her three-decade association with Jayalalithaa organised the reception for her. Seven AIADMK members, including the one who lent his car to Sasikala, were expelled from the party on Monday night for the reception. The police even intervened against her use of the AIADMK flag.
“The party has faced several struggles and risen like a phoenix in the past,” Sasikala said as she projected herself as a Jayalalithaa heir in the run-up to the polls in Tamil Nadu this year.
Sasikala’s nephew, TTV Dhinakaran, has maintained his aunt remains AIADMK general secretary and her supporters will help her reclaim the party. Dhinakaran, a lawmaker, led the AMMK in the 2019 parliamentary polls and got a 4% vote share.
The AIADMK has been fragmented since Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016. Sasikala’s former loyalists, chief minister Edapaddi Palaniswami and his deputy, O Paneerselvam, turned against her at different points and merged their factions.
Political commentator Sriram Seshadri said Sasikala will wait and act after the elections. He said if the AIADMK loses, she would move in to get the party to trust her leadership.
