Former interim general secretary of AIADMK continues to be the subject of debate
Former interim general secretary of AIADMK continues to be the subject of debate
Nearly five years after he lost his pivotal position in the AIADMK, the sidelined former interim general secretary, VK Sasikala, remains a subject of major political discussion both within and outside the party. Although the Sasikala factor was a topic of discussion even during the lifetime of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who considered her a confidante, it has taken a new dimension ever since Ms. Sasikala returned to Chennai in February 2021 after completing a four-year term from Bengaluru. has achieved. Punishment in case of disproportionate assets
Last week, AIADMK’s Theni district unit adopted a resolution Ms. Sasikala and her nephew and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran to be re-inducted into the organisation. Resolution is important for a few reasons. Theni AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam, who had revolted against Ms. Sasikala in February 2017, after which she went to Bangalore jail. The meeting took place at Mr. Panneerselvam’s farmhouse, though it was presided over by party’s district secretary SPM Syed Khan. The development proves that Ms. Sasikala has been taken over by former Chief Minister and party co-coordinator Edappadi K. Despite being declared a non-person by Palaniswami and his supporters, there are still sections in the party that want him back in the organisation.
Before the excitement over the incident waned, news came that Mr. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam had a telephonic conversation in which it is said that Panneerselvam had distanced himself from Theni Vikas. But this was not the end of the drama. The next day, Mr. Panneerselvam’s younger brother O. Raja, who heads the Theni District Cooperative Milk Producers Association (Aavin), met Ms. Sasikala in Tiruchendur, one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga, though he was on a “pilgrimage”. Soon after that meeting, Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Palaniswami expelled Mr. Raja from the party.
This is the second time in the last three years that Mr. Raja has been expelled from the party. In December 2018, too, hours after he was elected head of Madurai district’s Aavin, he was expelled for re-admittance, just a week after he expressed regret. The reason for his expulsion at that time was that Mr. Raja had approached Mr. Dinakaran for support without Mr. Panneerselvam’s “knowledge and approval”.
However, there are skeptics who doubt whether Mr. Panneerselvam will stick to the anti-Sasikala line permanently. In January 2021, one of his sons, VP Jaya Pradeep, wished Ms Sasikala a speedy recovery when she was suffering from COVID-19. Eight months later, when Mr. Panneerselvam’s wife Vijayalakshmi died in a Chennai hospital, Ms. Sasikala ran to offer condolences to the AIADMK coordinator.
In June last year, a large number of district units of the party passed a resolution condemning Ms. Sasikala, demanding that she “take over the party and create confusion among its cadre”. Nevertheless, party’s deputy coordinator R. The units in Theni and Thanjavur, the home district of Vaithiyalingam, did not comply. What has gone unnoticed is that Ms. Sasikala, Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Vaithiyalingam all belong to the Mukkolathor community.
Despite several attempts, Ms Sasikala has not been able to reduce the rank and file of the party which, in her own words, had “never seen such a magic of continuous electoral vicissitudes” since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. , Currently, most of the party office-bearers, if not more, are behind Mr. Palaniswami, who does not seem to be bucking his strong anti-Sasikala line.
ramakrishnan.t@thehindu.co.in