OPS Vs. VKS

The Fight For Amma's Place.

- B.R.Haran

Whether the party is led by OPS or VKS, AIADMK has undoubtedly lost its sheen and become weakened to a large extent and the weakening will further continue in the coming days. In the next elections, the party headed by charismatic leaders like MGR and Jayalalitha may end up like an ‘also-ran’

When the Tamil Nadu people exercised their franchise in May 2016 giving a resounding victory to their “Amma” Selvi J.Jayalalitha, they would have never thought or imagined that the state would sink in political turmoil within a few months. Many untoward things have happened consecutively in the ruling party, leading to uncertainty.

Jayalalitha, who formed the government in May 2016, fell sick and was hospitalized on September 22, 2016. After 75 days of hospitalization, she succumbed to a cardiac arrest on December 5, 2016. Finance Minister O.Panneerselvam, who had earned the name of “Stopgap Chief Minister” for taking that role twice earlier, was again sworn in as Chief Minister on the same night.

V.K.Sasikala, who was Jayalalitha’s friend and personal aid for over three decades baring a short period of six months in 2012, performed the funeral rituals along with Jaya’s nephew (brother’s son).​Jayalalitha’s hospitalization and subsequent death had brought the entire family of Sasikala including her husband Natarajan, who were kept at a distance out of the party and government by Jaya, out in the open. The family’s presence and audacious acts after Jaya’s death and during her funeral were clear signs of things to come, not only for the party but also for the general public.