V K Sasikala
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A profile
In December 2016, the ruling AIADMK party passed a resolution to work under the leadership of VK Sasikala, a close aide of former Chief Minister and party leader Jayalalithaa.
Hailing from a humble background from Mannargudi in south Tamil Nadu, 'Chinnamma' as Sasikala was known in her circles gradually gained acceptance in the Veda Nilayam residence, and even wielded influence in AIADMK at one point of time
Sasikala used to run a video store and record weddings attended by Jayalalithaa. VK Sasikala was introduced to Jayalalithaa by IAS officer-turned-politician VS Chandralekha, whose Public Relation Officer R Natarajan was Sasikala’s husband. Jayalalithaa and Sasikala Natarajan’s friendship grew and she became her closest confidante, even being in-charge of her house.
Jayalalithaa was so fond of Sasikala that, much to the chagrin of the CM’s family, she spent crores of rupees on the wedding of her foster son Sudhakaran, who is actually Sasikala’s nephew. He married Sathyalakshmi, the granddaughter of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan. Not only that, Jayalalithaa chose to dress exactly like Sasikala at Sudhakaran’s wedding!
In 2011, Jayalalithaa and Sasikala Natarajan’s friendship saw a rift, much like Jayalalithaa and MGR’s earlier. Due to a misunderstanding, Jayalalithaa expelled Sasikala and her husband, and 11 other family members from the AIADMK. Sasikala left her family and returned to Amma, whom she called ‘Akka’ (elder sister). Sasikala used to accompany Jayalalithaa at various functions including the latter's election campaigns in her special vehicle, earning the sobriquet of 'Jayalalithaa's shadow' from detractors. Sasikala performed the final rituals in the Vaishnavite tradition to which Jayalalithaa belonged. Jayalalithaa’s nephew Deepak Jayakumar also accompanied Sasikala during the rites.
Political career
Sasikala’s journey in politics
Sasikala’s long journey to the summit, Feb 6, 2017: The Times of India
From a video cassette pusher to the boss of Poes Garden two months ago, head of the AIADMK a month ago and stepping into the corridors of power at Fort St George in the coming days, V K Sasikala's rise has been meteoric in the last three decades.
A high school dropout from backwater Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district, Sasikala was introduced to Jayalalithaa in 1982 by the former's husband M Natarajan, then a government public relations officer. Since then, she became a regular in Jayalalithaa's house and the couple finally moved into it in 1988. But for brief periods in 1996 and 2012, when Jayalalithaa sent her out of No 81, Veda Nilayam, for anti-party activities, Sasikala had been staying with her. Even when her husband was thrown out of the house in 1990, she did not leave the place. When Jayalalithaa was hospitalised, she stood by her bed. After her death, Sasikala returned to Poes Garden and, as Jayalalithaa has not left any will behind, she continued to occupy the house that does not belong to her even today. And it is this house that she draws all her powers from and it is under the tutelage of Jayalalithaa that she learnt all the political manoeuvring that is now on display in abundant measure in Tamil Nadu.
Sasikala may lack the charisma of her leader, but is not a novice in politics. As Jayalalithaa remained out of reach for the rest of the party leaders, Sasikala became the intermediary and with that her importance kept growing. She travelled with Jayalalithaa like an aide wherever she went, but carved out a constituency for herself within the AIADMK by recommending many for important party posts and for fielding in elections. O Panneerselvam himself was promoted by none other than Sasikala and her nephew T T V Dinakaran. Never, ever did Jayalalithaa promote Sasikala as her political heir, but the importance of Sasikala's nominees kept growing in the party. Those investments are paying dividends now.
To save her own place in Jayalalithaa's house, Sasikala even disowned her husband and other family members. The relationship with Natarajan continues to be strained even today and he can reach out to her only through other members of the family.
Sasikala placed her confidants (mostly from her OBC thevar community) in key posts in the government too whenever the party was in power. Only after 2012 did Jayalalithaa keep her out of administrative matters, as a fallout of the proximity some officials gained to the CM. Sasikala's public image is that of an outsider trying to usurp power through the back door. Protests by AIADMK cadres and functionaries in some parts of the state in the wake of Jayalalithaa's demise further harmed her image. That, however, did not influence the AIADMK legislature party a bit. Within hours of Panneerselvam taking over as chief minister, there had been clamour from within his cabinet that he hand over the mantle to Sasikala.
Emerging from Jayalalithaa’s shadow
Jayaraj Sivan, How Sasikala emerged from Jayalalithaa’s shadow, Feb 6, 2017: The Times of India
HIGHLIGHTS
Sasikala’s rise has been meteoric in the last three decades
She was introduced to Jayalalithaa in 1982 by the former’s husband M Natarajan
Sasikala may lack the charisma of her leader but is not a novice in politics
CHENNAI: From a video cassette pusher to boss of Poes Garden two months ago, head of AIADMK a month ago+ and soon to step into into the corridors of power at Fort St George, Sasikala's rise+ has been meteoric in the last three decades.
A high school dropout from Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district, Sasikala was introduced to Jayalalithaa in 1982 by the former's husband M Natarajan, then a government public relations officer. Since then, she became a regular in Jayalalithaa's house and the couple finally moved into it in 1988. But for brief periods in 1996 and 2012, when Jayalalithaa sent her out of No 81, Veda Nilayam, for anti-party activities, Sasikala had been staying with her. Even when her husband was thrown out of the house in 1990, she did not leave. The relationship with Natarajan continues to be strained even today. When Jayalalithaa was hospitalised, she stood by her bed. After her death, Sasikala returned to Poes Garden and, as Jayalalithaa has not left any will behind, she continued to occupy the house that does not belong to her even today. And it is this house that she draws all her powers from and it is under the tutelage of Jayalalithaa that she learnt all the political manoeuvring that is now on display in Tamil Nadu.
Sasikala may lack the charisma of her leader but is not a novice in politics. As Jayalalithaa remained out of reach for the rest of the party members, Sasikala+ became the intermediary and her importance kept growing. She travelled with Jayalalithaa wherever she went but carved out a constituency for herself within the AIADMK by recommending many for important party posts and for fielding in elections. O Panneerselvam himself was promoted by none other than Sasikala and her nephew T T V Dinakaran. Never, ever did Jayalalithaa promote Sasikala as her political heir but the importance of Sasikala's nominees kept growing in the party. Those investments are paying dividends now.
Sasikala placed her confidants (mostly from her OBC thevar community) in key posts in the government too whenever the party was in power. Only after 2012 did Jayalalithaa keep her out of administrative matters as a fallout of the proximity some officials gained to the CM. Sasikala's public image is that of an outsider trying to usurp power through the back door. Protests by AIADMK cadres in some parts of the state in the wake of Jayalalithaa's demise further harmed her image. That, however, did not influence the AIADMK legislature party a bit. Within hours of Panneerselvam taking over as CM, there had been clamour that he hand over the mantle to Sasikala+
February 2017: In a race to be the CM of Tamil Nadu
HIGHLIGHTS
AIADMK MLAs elected Sasikala as their legislature party leader
Panneerselvam proposed her name at the meeting of AIADMK legislators meeting.
AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala was elected as legislature party leader by MLAs during a party meeting on 5th February, 2017, paving way for her to become Tamil Nadu chief minister.
"Chinnamma all set to become the Next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu," AIADMK said in a tweet.
Panneerselvam proposed her name at the meeting of AIADMK legislators, party leaders said. "I resigned and we elected Sasikala unanimously as leader of the party in assembly. All MLAs are in support," said Panneerselvam.
Nephew Dinakaran is Sasi's remote control
Julie Mariappan, Sasi's remote control: Kin once expelled by Jaya Feb 16 2017 : The Times of India
Hours before she was to surrender in Feb 2017 , Sasikala appointed her nephew TTV Dinakaran as AIADMK's deputy general secretary to helm of the party in her absence. In what could be seen as an ambitious move to wield control of the party despite her conviction in a DA case, she re-inducted into the party Dinakaran and a second nephew, S Venkatesh.
Jayalalithaa had expelled the two along with 12 others, including Sasikala and her husband M N Natarajan, in December 2011 for “treacherous“ acts against her. While Sasikala was reinducted three months later following a public apology for the “treacherous acts of her family members“, others were never again allowed into Poes Garden by the late chief minister.
The emerging power centre was visible when Dinakaran sat by Sasikala's side when she met governor C Vidyasagar Rao on February 9 to stake claim to form the state government. He also accompanied Edappadi K Palaniswami when he visited the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday .
“He is a good team leader and an acceptable face among the cadres as he takes everyone into his fold,“ said one of his former associates.“There was talk among seniors that Dinakaran should take over as general secretary but that did not happen,“ he said, adding, “It came as no surprise that Dinakaran became the war room manager for Sasikala after Jayalalithaa's death.“
Dinakaran's rise in public life began at Periakulam, the home turf of TN's caretaker chief minister O Panneerselvam. The Sasikala family's clout in Poes Garden was evident when Dinakaran was fielded from the Periakulam parliamentary constituency in the 1999 elections.
The outsider won by a margin of 45,000 votes, thanks to his poll manager O Panneerselvam, who was then the Periakulam municipal chairman. Dinaka ran had stayed in OPS's house during the campaign.
The modest and hard working Panneerselvam caught the attention of Dinakaran, which resulted in OPS taking over the hot seat of CM thrice, when Jayalalithaa had to vacate the seat following legal impediments. When Dinakaran failed to wrest the seat for a second term in 2004, Jayalalithaa offered him a Rajya Sabha seat within months.
But the elder son of Vanithamani, Sasikala's sister, was shown the door along with his brothers V Baskaran and V N Sudhakaran, the disowned foster son of Jayalalithaa, in 2011. “He could enter (the party) only after Amma's demise,“ said AIADMK leader Karuppasamy Pandian, who resigned from the post of organising secretary to protest against Dinakaran's appointment. Jayalalithaa had kept the post vacant for nearly 17 years.
Incidentally , the Madras high court has confirmed an order of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act appellate board imposing a penalty of Rs 28 crore on Dinakaran in a case initiated by the Enforcement Directorate in 1996. The case was related to the receipt of over $10 million by Dinakaran in alleged contravention of FERA.
