‘Time is ripe; my entry has begun’: Sasikala’s dramatic announcement

The time is ripe for her entry again, VK Sasikala, confidante of late Tamil Nady Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, dramatically announced on Sunday (June 16) and vowed to usher in “Amma’s rule” by winning the 2026 Assembly polls.

Sasikala, who has made several unsuccessful attempts to regain control of the AIADMK led by Edappadi K Palaniswami, said it cannot be thought that the AIADMK is decimated in view of its recent electoral drubbing as her “entry has begun”.

She also asserted that she would question the government as the “Opposition party” since Palaniswami did not ask the right questions in his capacity as Leader of Opposition.

“I am very strong”

“This is the time I have been telling you about; there is no need for any concern,” Sasikala said, addressing her supporters in Chennai, apparently referring to her stand of “unifying” the party for which she also had toured several regions of the state.

“For sure, people of Tamil Nadu are on our side.... I am very strong... it cannot be thought that the AIADMK is finished and it is because my entry (re-entry) has commenced,” she said amid rounds of applause.

With the support of cadres and people, “Amma’s regime” will be ushered in by winning the 2026 Assembly polls, she said. Sasikala added that she will soon begin her state-wide tour and pose questions and the DMK government has to provide answers.

“No caste politics”

Sasikala, without naming anyone, said “caste-based politics” has made an entry into the party (AIADMK).

Bringing such caste-based politics into the party nurtured by party founder MGR and late matriarch “Amma Jayalalithaa” will not be tolerated by her and party workers, Sasikala asserted. If she had any caste-based considerations, she would not have made Edappadi K Palaniswami as chief minister in 2017, Sasikala argued. He was made the chief minister considering representation to the western region of the state, which had all along stood by the party from the days of MGR.

Today, she said the party has been relegated to third and fourth positions in the recent LS polls and also had lost deposit in a number of seats.

Attack on Palaniswami

Evidently, her “caste-based politics” and the “poll debacle” comments were aimed at Palaniswami. In 2017, when she proposed Palaniswami for the post of chief minister, she was the party’s interim general secretary, the number one position then following the death of Jayalalithaa in December 2016.

Speaking to reporters, answering a question, she said “boycott of Vikravandi bypoll is not correct under the present circumstances”. The AIADMK and DMDK have boycotted the July 10 bypoll.

Targeting the ruling DMK regime over issues such as procurement of buses, she said, “If the Leader of the Opposition (Palaniswami) does not pose questions that he must ask, I am the Opposition party, I am asking (those) questions.” She expressed confidence of bringing everyone together, unifying the AIADMK and capturing power in the state.

Palaniswami’s rise

Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his supporters were expelled by Palaniswami, who later emerged as the single leader at the helm of the AIADMK.

Sasikala and her relatives, including TTV Dhinakaran, who later founded the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, were among those who were eased out of the party years ago when Panneerselvam and Palaniswami remained together.

(With agency inputs)