Sasikala Natarajan to Take Political Plunge, to be New AIADMK Chief

Chennai: The stage seems all set for Sasikala Natarajan to take over the reins of the AIADMK.

A few days ago, the new CM O Panneerselvam and his senior ministers had visited the Veda Nilayam residence in Chennai’s upmarket Poes Garden to hold discussions with Sasikala Natarajan who holds no office in the government or the party.

Veda Nilayam, where Sasikala now stays, was the residence of the late J Jayalalithaa, who besides being the chief minister, was also the general secretary of the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (AIADMK). A post she held with such command that she was called 'Niranthara Podhu Cheyalalar’ (permanent general secretary).

The succession plan in the party will not be as smooth as that in the government. While Panneerselvam was sworn in within hours of Jayalalithaa’s death, sources said the process of finding a successor in the party is caught in a caste wrangle — between the dominant Thevars, the caste to which Sasikala belongs, and the Goundars, who are strong in the western belt of the state.

Political commentators believe Sasikala’s elevation may not be all that smooth in the medium-term given the resentment against her immediate family members – dubbed the “Mannargudi Mafia” – whom Jayalalithaa herself had banished from Poes Garden.

Immediately after her death, Sasikala’s husband Natarajan had told News18 that “any ordinary person could lead the party now” since Jayalalithaa and MGR had left behind a solid organization.

The statement was interpreted as Natarajan laying the ground for his wife – a political rookie who had largely remained in the shadows while Jayalalithaa was alive – to take over the reins of the party that has still more than four years to go in government.