Slow unravelling of Sasikala — from CM apparent to political nobody

There are two abiding images of VK Sasikala that the world got to see after the demise of her friend J Jayalalithaa — popularly called Amma — in December 2016. 

Following her political elevation as party general secretary, ‘Chinamma’ tried to adopt Amma’s persona. Her dress, hairstyle and even some well-calibrated gestures sought to impress upon the public and the still-in-shock AIADMK cadres that an avatar of Jayalalithaa had arrived in the form of Sasikala.

But the moment she started to speak, Sasikala showed that she was not a patch on her powerful predecessor. Though well-rehearsed, her halting Tamil delivered with hesitant pauses and an unimpressive tone proved she was a mere pretender in a hurry to grab Amma’s looks and political legacy.

CM aspirations come crashing

And, then came the setbacks. Sasikala’s move to become Chief Minister, through a deviously orchestrated coup, hit a prolonged roadblock. The then Governor C Vidyasagar Rao delayed her claim to the CM post, choosing to wait for the Supreme Court’s verdict on the wealth case against her and two of her relatives. By upholding her conviction and a four-year jail term, the SC put paid to her chief ministerial ambitions.

Then came the second image that gets replayed on TV screens – the one of her before leaving for the Parappana Agrahara Jail in Karnataka to serve her prison term. A distraught but determined Sasikala slapped the samadhi of Jayalalithaa, as if swearing that she would be back to avenge the ‘wrongdoings’ and reclaim her political space.

Also read: Jayalalithaa’s death: Panel says Sasikala, doctor, others at fault

For those who expected fireworks after her release from jail in January 2021, the angry promise she had made at Jaya’s samadhi transformed into nothing short of a whimper. Her chosen nominee as CM, Edappadi K Palaniswamy (EPS), had entrenched himself in the party and made sure not a single MLA or MP migrated to her camp. 

Soon, she fell out with her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, who had started his own party. And, when the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections came round, Sasikala stayed on the sidelines, unsure what her role should be. She had also shed the Jaya clone look by then, probably realising it to be a poor copy.

Diminishing stature

In 2021, the AIADMK lost power to MK Stalin-led DMK, TTV failed to poll more than 6 per cent of votes, while Sasikala kept making half-hearted political forays, talking to a chosen few AIADMK functionaries over the phone and going on pilgrimages that doubled up as political outings. But these tactics hardly made any impression on AIADMK cadres. 

Even her earnest appeal to the two factions of EPS and OPS (O Panneerselvam, senior party leader and former Chief Minister), when the AIADMK split again in 2022, to bring various factions of the AIADMK under one umbrella, failed to cut any ice.

As it dawned on Sasikala that she commanded little political traction, she shrunk back into political hibernation. Then came the report of the Arumughaswamy Commission that probed the treatment given to Jayalalithaa and the causes for her death, based on a demand by OPS in 2017.

Damning report

Arumughaswamy, a former high court judge, firmly indicted her, stating that not only did she control access to an ailing Jayalalithaa but also the line of treatment. “Respondent one (Sasikala) was the one and the only person who was consulted by the doctors, more particularly the doctors of Apollo Hospital, in respect of the course of the treatment and only upon her consent, Apollo doctors proceeded further,” the judge concluded. 

The commission faulted both Sasikala and Apollo Hospital for denying Jayalalithaa the life-saving treatment of angioplasty or flying her abroad for further treatment.

Also read: Jaya’s death: Arumugasamy Commission seeks action against Sasikala

Those damning observations have undone Sasikala’s plan to project herself as the true heir of Amma. After all, she had been Jaya’s shadow for over four decades, wielded power as an extra-constitutional authority and strutted around as the second most powerful person in the AIADMK owing to her proximity to Jayalalithaa.

While the aura and sympathy that she had hoped to harvest due to her closeness to Jayalalithaa never materialised, Sasikala was still hoping that the warring factions of the AIADMK would one day unite under her leadership. She was also confident that ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP would compel EPS and OPS to bury their hatchet and also make peace with Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran to consolidate the anti-DMK votes. Such a scenario would have given her the much needed political relevance in the state.

Crushing blow

But the indictment by the Arumughaswamy Commission has dealt a crushing blow to such calculations. Its findings further underline the public perception that she was in some way responsible for Jayalalithaa’s illness and subsequent death. 

A stunned Sasikala responded: “There are several ways to ostracise me from politics, but it is cruel to use Amma’s death for it. After politicising Amma’s death, Arumughaswamy Commission’s report has also now been politicised.”

The unkindest cut of the indictment is that it came from a former judge who belonged to the same Thevar community as her. This could only further dent her image within a community which used to back her. 

The trust deficit that Arumughaswamy has stamped on Sasikala’s role could crush whatever political ambition she had been nursing. It is probably the best time to fade away quietly into the sunset.