Sasikala Natarajan has some balancing act to do
Sasikala Natarajan has a difficult task ahead. She can neither be divorced from the politics of the AIADMK in the post-J Jayalalithaa period nor can she be over-interventionist. Several Members of the Tamil Nadu Assembly owe their position to her. At the same time, there is also a strong section within the party which is inimical to her influence. Sasikala, the closest friend that the charismatic but aloof Jayalalithaa had, will have to find nuanced ways to conduct herself. For now, the very fact that she is ensconced in the former Chief Minister's residence sends out the message that she is in control.
This reality was further underlined when a host of Ministers including Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, and senior party leaders including those who had fallen out of favour with her during Jayalalithaa's reign, came to visit her. Nobody knows of the deliberations that happened behind closed doors. And yet, there is no doubting Sasikala's clout. On her part, she has been careful to not ruffle feathers — she is reported to have clarified that she desired neither the Chief Minister's chair nor the post of the party's general secretary (considered the most powerful and which Chief Minister Jayalalithaa held concurrently). But it would be naïve to take such renunciations at face value. Perhaps she is trying to study the direction the wind is blowing in, at the moment. It is unlikely that she will be a non-player. As of now, she may be content with pulling the strings from behind the curtains.
Neither Chief Minister Panneerselvam nor other senior leaders will want to upset the applecart at this critical moment when the party has plunged into a crisis after Jayalalithaa's demise. In fact, they would be more than happy to be allowed a certain space to operate in — with Sasikala playing a mentor or guide. And yet, even in an ideal situation, the arrangement is unworkable. Sasikala cannot be ‘Amma’, but she would be thrilled to become Tamil Nadu’s ‘Chinnamma’. This is her moment to come out of Jayalalithaa's shadow. But so is this the same moment for the likes of Panneerselvam. A tussle cannot thus be ruled out. Either one can emerge the winner, or the conflict can throw up a third, mutually acceptable name.
Sasikala has many factors going for her, with the most important being, of course, her proximity to Jayalalithaa. Therefore, many within the party and the cadre would be ready to accept her word as that which Jayalalithaa would have willed. But then, she had also rubbed many leaders and workers the wrong way when she wielded power during the then Chief Minister's rule. Besides, her detractors will not forget to recall the two occasions when Jayalalithaa had cut her off from her inner circle and banished her into anonymity. They will remind the people that Sasikala deserved the punishment because she had begun to misuse her friendship with Jayalalithaa to favour select people, and this had led to Jayalalithaa's carefully-crafted image to be dented. The AIADMK even suffered electoral reverses in the process. Perhaps Sasikala understands those pitfalls and, therefore, has sternly asked her relatives to keep away from the Government's and the party's affairs. These may be cosmetic or genuine gestures. We have to wait and see.