Chennai: If marriages were occasions for political deal-making in the past, bereavements have been made use of by VK Sasikala, the expelled leader from the AIADMK, to make her presence felt so as to stage a comeback. The demise of O Panneer Selvam' wife Vijayalakshmi on Wednesday turned out to be one such opportunity for the former confidant of Jayalalithaa, who kept the party under her thumbs prior to her incarceration and expulsion in August 2017.
It appeared to be an emotional reunion as a tearful OPS held on to Sasikala's hands. She was among the early birds and the first among leaders to land at the private hospital on the outskirts of Chennai, ahead of others in the AIADMK as the Assembly was in session. Chief Minister MK Stalin among those who visited OPS at the hospital.
Vijayalakshmi (66) who was hospitalised for a week, passed away in the morning following a cardiac arrest.
Stalin's visit is in continuation of nurturing a new political culture since leaders of both the Dravidian majors would not see eye to eye in the past. However, it was Sasikala's meeting with OPS which proved to be the cynosure of all eyes and had given a fresh twist to her manoeuvres for a re-entry into the AIADMK.
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This is the second time that she is making use of bereavement to drive home the point that she could not be ignored. Earlier last month, she visited an ailing AIADMK presidium chairman, E Mathusuthanan, at the hospital and later his house following his death. She consoled the family members of Mathusuthanan who surrounded her. Then also, she drove in a vehicle with an AIADMK party flag. This too comes close on the heels of Sasikala's telephonic interactions with party functionaries and cadre across the state which spanned for more than a month.
Though this can be explained away as a gesture of a leader, who had wielded power in the party, speculations refuse to die down as OPS is reported to have made attempts to reach out to Sasikala and her nephew, TTV Dhinakaran. And, OPS is seen to be going soft on the duo.
Interestingly, it was OPS who raised the banner of revolt against Sasikala and her clan. After he was forced to resign as Chief Minister after the death of Jayalalithaa, to pave way for Sasikala's ascension, he staged a 40 minute-long moun-vrat at Jayalalithaa's samadhi on February 7, 2017. After this high-voltage drama, Edappadi K Palaniswami became Chief Minister and Sasikala was incarcerated in the wealth case. However, OPS, who parted company returned to the AIADMK which also saw the purge of the Sasikala clan from the party.
Now, the meeting of the two after four long years has generated excitement among AIADMK cadre, who root for her accommodation and as such, it has acquired significance, analysts say.
“Make no mistake, this meeting is a message to the rank and file of the party,” says senior Journalist Babu Jayakumar. However, he ruled out the possibility of a reunion at this juncture. "Sasikala is making a determined bid for a comeback. For a long time, she's been taking consistent and calculated moves to achieve that. OPS is open and ready to induct her, but Edappadi Palaniswami is opposing this. As of now MLAs are with him but at some point, if EPS becomes vulnerable, then the possibility of her homecoming could be a reality as well," he opined.
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After Sasikala was thrown out of the party, AIADMK suffered huge losses in the southern region of Tamil Nadu, dominated by the Mukkolathor community, to which both OPS and Sasikala hail from. The party lost a large chunk of seats by a thin margin to the AMMK of TTV Dhinakaran. Even though Jayalalitha does not belong to this caste, she had carefully nurtured a strong support base from them and Sasikala's presence plays a key role in this. And this explains the importance of Sasikala.
