All Hail Sasikala

Earlier this week, ‘MG Ramachandran’ and ‘Jayalalithaa’ came to Veda Nilayam in Poes Garden in Chennai. This is where VK Sasikala lives now. Curiously, they were accompanied by ‘Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’ and ‘APJ Abdul Kalam’, among others. They had come to request Sasikala to take over the reins of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

Without a doubt, the sight of the lookalikes lining up in attendance before Sasikala looked silly. But with a party cadre given to sycophancy and idol worship, this was a way of conveying that everyone, including MGR and Jayalalithaa, wanted ‘Chinnamma’ (or ‘Little Mother’ as she is often called) to step up. Over the past three weeks, district secretaries have been herding crowds from different parts of Tamil Nadu to Poes Garden in a choreographed display of overwhelming support for Sasikala as the next leader.

At the same time, the AIADMK twitter handle put out a portion of the Jayalalithaa interview with Simi Garewal in which she speaks in glowing terms about Sasikala, including how she had taken on the role of her mother in Amma’s life.

And today, when Chinnamma was named the party general secretary, the writing was on the wall. Banners showing a photoshopped image of Jayalalithaa bequeathing a bouquet to a beaming Sasikala, came up in Chennai. The power stays with Poes Garden, even if the presiding deity has changed.

Current Chief Minister O Panneerselvam drove from Vanagaram, the venue of the General Council meeting to Poes Garden to convey the resolutions to Chinnamma. The jury is out on whether Panneerselvam will agree to step down should Sasikala aspire for the top job as well.

In the run-up to January 2, when Sasikala will formally take over as general secretary of the AIADMK, one can expect her to be rebranded through the party’s digital media arm. The Sasikala camp realises that despite the overwhelming support from the MLAs, MPs, district secretaries and other members of the General Council, a significant section of the cadre resent her. Rumours, largely fuelled by social media, allege that Sasikala did not take good care of Jayalalithaa, a perception she will have to actively combat to change.

When in doubt, tune in to Kollywood. A four and a half minute song celebrating Sasikala as a “symbol of sacrifice” was released within a couple of hours of her acceptance of the the general secretary post. Set to an AR Rahman-esque orchestral score, with a beat reminiscent of Shankar’s ‘Mudhalvan’, the song asks Chinnamma to “save the party as she is the god the cadre sees with their eyes”. The song, presumably written by loyal party members, posits that Chinnamma is the reincarnation of Amma. It attempt to present Sasikala as cut from the same Jayalalithaa cloth. It also indicates that the Sasikala camp has been preparing for her to take over the party for some time now.

For years, Sasikala has been known to the outside world as Jayalalithaa’s shadow. Now as the spotlight is on the shadow, Sasikala the person needs to come into the forefront. Not much is known of her other than she took care of Jayalalithaa, shared her confidence and understood the political dynamics of Tamil Nadu, not to mention the inner-workings of the AIADMK. She had a say in the ticket distribution at election time and which party to ally with. But the face of the party was Jayalalithaa, with no one really aware of the extent of Sasikala’s influence.

But heading a powerful regional party is a different ballgame. When Sasikala speaks at the AIADMK office next week, that will be the first time many outside the party’s inner circle will hear her. Thanks to the mandate Jayalalithaa won for the AIADMK in 2014 Lok Sabha polls and in the assembly elections in May this year, Sasikala will remain a leader to reckon with, not just in Chennai but also in New Delhi. The AIADMK has 49 MPs and is the third largest block in Parliament.

Other political parties view Sasikala both with suspicion and apprehension. But unlike in 1988, when the AIADMK split after MGR’s death, Sasikala has ensured the party stays intact. That is the hallmark of a good leader. And unlike Jayalalithaa who had to manoeuvre her way to gain prominence, Sasikala has everything going for her, including a stint in power till 2021.

Except the 19-year-old Disproportionate Assets case in which the verdict is reserved by the Supreme court. Sasikala is the second accused, after Jayalalithaa, and an adverse verdict could kill her political career.

Sasikala, who started life as a video recorder who shot Jayalalithaa’s speeches in the ’80s, is going to be in front of the cameras now. What endeared her to Amma was the fact that even when there was tremendous pressure on her to turn approver and implicate Jayalalithaa in the illegal foreign exchange cases in 1996-97, she did not budge. For Jayalalithaa, loyalty mattered more than anything else.

But the problem is that Sasikala’s family was known to make full use of her presence in Poes Garden and have a finger in every pie. Things came to a head in 2011 when Jayalalithaa banished Sasikala and her family from her home. Though Sasikala managed to return in four months with an apology, other family members and Sasikala’s husband, M Natarajan, in particular, were declared persona non grata. The same Natarajan was seen by Jayalalithaa’s casket on December 6.

Today Natarajan is once again a powerful man, even though Sasikala makes her distance from him apparent, going by VK Sasikala rather than Sasikala Natarajan. But whispers about Natarajan’s influence since Jayalalithaa’s demise abound. One of Natarajan’s key aides allegedly bragged, “Panneerselvam takes all his orders from Natarajan. Till he does so, he will be safe. The day he does not, Panneerselvam will become Kanneerselvam.” Kanneer is Tamil for tears.

Knowing the AIADMK and Tamil Nadu temperament, Sasikala would do well to keep her family at bay instead of letting them control the party or even imply they do. Only her ability to do so will determine her political success. Unless she believes that the family that rules together, stays together.