Tactical timeout

Sasikala has given up politics for now, but she could reclaim her position if the AIADMK loses the assembly elections

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

ON FEBRUARY 27, as Union Home Minister Amit Shah held an exhaustive meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam in the presence of BJP national general secretary (organization) B.L. Santhosh in a luxury hotel in Chennai, senior leaders of the AIADMK were waiting outside anxiously. The discussions, which were focused on the return of ousted party general secretary V.K. Sasikala, went on till around 4 am. Soon after the meeting got over, Shah left for Delhi.

In a meeting with their colleagues in the morning, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam said Shah wanted Sasikala to be part of the AIADMK-BJP alliance. “He said her influence would be decisive in at least 65 constituencies in southern Tamil Nadu,” a senior AIADMK leader told THE WEEK. The meeting discussed the pros and cons of bringing Sasikala back, and the leaders were understandably jittery.

Sasikala herself ended the suspense three days later by announcing her decision to withdraw from active politics. In a two-page letter, she appealed to AIADMK workers to work hard and ensure the continuity of the “golden rule” of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa. “Defeating the DMK, the evil force, should be the main aim of all obedient cadre of Amma’s party,” she wrote.