The AIADMK’s Sasikala camp on Wednesday released a video of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospital, raising the poll pitch just a day before the crucial RK Nagar by-election.

The video went viral on social media within minutes of its release, and hogged the headlines on national TV channels as well, triggering an avalanche of political reactions from all parties concerned, who questioned the motive and timing of the clip.

The video shows a rather frail Jayalalithaa, having recovered from her illness at Apollo Hospital (she had been moved from the ICU to a private ward in the same hospital), dressed in a nighty and sipping fruit juice.

It was released by former MLA P Vetrivel, an aide of Sasikala’s nephew Dhinakaran, who had also resigned from the RK Nagar constituency to enable Jayalalithaa to contest the seat. The late AIADMK chief had won from RK Nagar after the Karnataka High Court acquitted her in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

Hours after the video’s release, the Election Commission directed that a case be registered against Vetrivel for releasing the video in violation of the model code. It also issued a notice asking all TV channels to stop further telecast of the video.

Several questions have been raised in the media over the video. The AIADMK camp of chief minister Edappadi Palaniswamy has reacted violently to its release and questioned its veracity. “Even if authentic, the video could have been handed over to the inquiry commission looking into the circumstances leading to the death of Jayalalithaa,” law minister CV Shanmugam said.

He lashed out at Vetrivel and wondered why Dhinakaran, a contestant in RK Nagar which goes to the polls tomorrow, December 21, did not release the video himself.

The video was apparently shot by Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala, now undergoing a jail term in Bengaluru after conviction in a DA case.

The governing party in the state, which has high stakes in Thursday’s bypoll, has accused Dhinakaran of trying to get political mileage from the video.

Some parties like the BJP have wondered whether the video’s release is a violation of the poll code. BJP national secretary H Raja also questioned the veracity of the video and said it was up to the Election Commission to decide whether it was a violation or not.

Meanwhile, Apollo Hospital authorities clarified that the video was not shot by anyone in the hospital but by those close to Jayalalithaa (apparently Sasikala).

On November 29, 2016, Jayalalithaa was moved from the ICU to the private ward. The video shows her in a state of recovery.

The video has political implications especially for the Sasikala camp as questions were raised over Jayalalithaa’s death, and Sasikala’s political opponents in the AIADMK had virtually accused her of murder. Other political parties believe the video is aimed at creating goodwill for Sasikala and her camp, as it shows Jayalalithaa as having recovered from her illness.

Opponents had also accused Sasikala of preventing proper medical treatment for the former state CM. The Sasikala camp apparently feels vindicated after the video, and hopes that anti-Sasikala and anti-Dhinakaran sentiment would subside in Tamil Nadu. Thus, the Dhinakaran camp hopes to achieve buoyancy in its favour or at least stem the tide of disapproval against their camp.

According to the state election machinery, the release of the video after campaigning had come to an end on the evening of December 19, was a violation of the model code and certainly objectionable.

Though telecast of the video has been banned, it has already caused a political earthquake and the tremors will be felt long after the result of the RK Nagar bypoll is out.