In India, there are political parties. And then there is the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). A party that takes loyalty to its leader to an altogether different level. 

Sample this. On Tuesday, former minister Valarmathi, party spokesperson CR Saraswathi and a dozen other women AIADMK activists prayed at a temple in Chennai before proceeding to eat rice and sambhar served on the floor. A huge photograph of Jayalalithaa was held behind them to complete the picture. But ask them if this kind of televised sycophancy is needed in today’s day and age, and they bristle and tell you that it is their love and affection for their “Amma”.

For nearly two weeks now, the AIADMK has been in prayer mode. Apprehensive, anxious, on the edge. The unusual levels of secrecy surrounding her ailments have given wings to rumours that are pushed into cyberspace with the push of a button. For ten days, Apollo Hospitals where she is admitted, stuck to a narrative of “fever and dehydration and on a normal diet” before it realised that it was being ambushed by talk on the street that the CM was, in fact, on the ventilator. The hospital confirmed in its medical bulletin on Monday that Jayalalithaa is indeed on “respiratory support”, sending AIADMK cadre into a tizzy. 

The AIADMK, by its own admission, is a one-woman party. Unlike MG Ramachandran, who had seasoned politicians in his party and cabinet, Jayalalithaa presides over a party of political pygmies. It is obvious in the manner in which veteran leaders fall at her feet. She axes ministers without assigning any reasons and there is never a revolt or even a murmur heard. 

Though the hospital maintains the CM is showing improvement, the AIADMK is worried about how long she will take to recover and whether she will be the Jayalalithaa of old. It is known that her movements were restricted even during the election campaign this May. Since she returned to power, she has largely operated from home and the Secretariat, choosing to inaugurate projects through video conferencing. 

But now the big difference since September 22, when she was rushed to hospital, is that Jayalalithaa is not visible. The AIADMK tried to make it appear it is business as usual by putting out that the CM presided over a meeting on Cauvery issue at in her hospital room. But with the hospital confirming she is on the ventilator, no one believes that she could have chaired a meeting in the Critical Care Unit. DMK chief Karunanidhi asked for photographs of the CM to be released, which was rejected by the AIADMK. 

The Opposition is already accusing the government of being in pause mode. It says it is because of lack of political leadership that the Centre has sided with Karnataka by refusing to form the Cauvery Management Board. The Board to handle river water disputes has been a long-standing demand by Tamil Nadu. With no clear second-rung leadership in the party or the government, governance is on auto pilot.

But the police realise it is important to handle the information flow about Jayalalithaa’s health well, lest emotional cadre resort to extreme steps like self-immolations. Tamil Nadu has seen people harming themselves when MGR died in 1987 and the police realise that things can swiftly get out of hand, with several troublemakers using social media to foment unrest. 

Medical opinion is that the chief minister cannot be discharged for another three weeks at the least. Sources say doctors will simply not allow her to move out for the simple reason that the procedure is to wean a patient away slowly from the ventilator, oxygen support and sedation. That will take time. 

But political opinion seems to be at variance with medical opinion. Since Monday, leaders of other smaller parties and outfits who are visiting the hospital are coming out to say that Jayalalithaa would go home in two to three days. This has led to suspicion that this chorus is being choreographed because medical opinion is clearly against discharging her from hospital any time soon. 

But the public is getting impatient with the stingy approach to information on Jayalalithaa. The Madras High court has also stepped in, asking the government to provide details of her medical condition, arguing that the public is anxious. 

As of now, it looks unlikely that anyone else will be appointed as an interim CM. Tamil Nadu has seen MGR even winning an election from his hospital bed in America. But 2016 is different from the 1980s and sooner than later, pressure will start building up not just from the opposition, but even from the cadre and the public, to clear the air on Jayalalithaa.