V K Sasikala: Always a shadow to Jayalalithaa, now on the centre stage

"Chinnamma" of AIADMK has been rumoured to take over the leadership after the demise of Jayalalithaa

The transition of power in Tamil Nadu has once again completed peacefully. For VK Sasikala, the way from the close aide of the iron lady J Jayalalithaa to the general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the ruling party in Tamil Nadu and now to the Chief Ministership of the State, did not had much of an opposition, at least from the top ranks of the party.

Senior party members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has been requesting Sasikala to take charge of the party and the State government, after the demise of J Jayalalithaa, who single handedly took the party to the leading position over past three and a half decades.

Sasikala, who is referred as "Chinnamma" in the party circle, has been rumoured to take over the leadership after the demise of Jayalalithaa, who was referred as 'Amma'. Documents and videos to prove that Jayalalithaa has referred as her sister sans blood relation and nominated in some documents as her heir surfaced, to back the claims. 

In 1982, Sasikala got acquainted with Jayalalithaa, who was a budding politician who was working with her political God Father M G Ramachandran, a famous actor turned politician and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for several years. Sasikala was running a video shop, offering video coverage for various functions. They got introduced through civil service official V S Chandralekha, who selected Sasikala's husband M Natarajan as her public relations officer. 

Sasikala became close to Jayalalithaa after covering a few party functions of the latter. Her family also became close to Jayalalithaa. However, according to reports, she started to be in the limelight when Jayalalithaa became the Chief Minister of the State in 1990s, as she was a shadow to Jayalalithaa in various public functions. The family also attracted the attention of media as there were allegations that the family members also interfered in various political affairs.

Jayalalithaa adopted Sasikala's nephew Sudhakaran as her foster son and conducted his wedding with such a grandeur, it attracted the attention of media in the entire nation. This has also invited criticism and soon there were scandals, alleging that the duo amassed wealth and land using power. Sasikala was accused along with Jayalalithaa in various cases inclduing the Tansi land deal case and the over 18-year long battle of disproportionate asset case which is still pending for final verdict from the Supreme Court of India. The family of Sasikala was also refered by the media and her opponents as the 'Mannargudi Mafia', as she hails from Mannargudi. 

O Panneerselvam, who was elevated from the head of a municipal corporation to the position of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu within a matter of few years, when Jayalalithaa was first declared as unfit to hold the position of Chief Minister, related to the Tansi land case in early 2000, was a nominee of the Sasikala family. They belong to the Mukkulathor community, which has a strong presence in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. Panneerselvam is a protege of T T V Dinakaran, Sasikala's nephew and Lok Sabha member from Periakulam. In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Panneerselvam worked hard for Dinakaran's success. He belongs to the Mukkulathor community.

Sasikala's relation with Jayalalithaa was strained in public, twice in all these years. Jayalalithaa denounced her in 1996, after they faced cases and criticism. However, they again came together. In 2011, again Jayalalithaa expelled Sasikala and her family, including Natarajan and almost 12 other relatives, though there were no reasons mentioned for the action. While Sasikala patched up with Jayalalithaa soon and came back to Poes Garden, many of her relatives were kept away till Jayalalithaa's demise. Sasikala remained alongside with Jayalalithaa even when the latter fell ill and was hospitalised for almost 74 days finally succumbing to death.