The sudden appearance of posters around the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai demanding that Sasikala Natarajan, the close friend of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for three decades, be made the next general secretary of the party has bewildered the leadership and the cadre alike. The posters supporting Sasikala have left many wondering if Chinnamma (mother’s younger sister) will become the new Amma of the ADMK. If the reactions of senior leaders, who were close to Jayalalithaa and the cadre are any indication, the ADMK is in for major trouble with dissensions, defections and dismissals on the cards.
Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who has convened the first Cabinet meeting of his Council of Ministers on Saturday, and some of his colleagues were seen trooping into Veda Nilayam, the residence of Jayalalithaa, on Thursday and Friday following summons by Sasikala.
The top cops in the city were also seen visiting the imposing building from where Jayalalithaa held court since she took over the party in 1989.
“It seems the Secretariat itself has been shifted to Veda Nilayam. These people will never improve. Now we will see
them paying obeisance to Chinnamma,” said a veteran bureaucrat who is disgusted with the kind of sycophancy being shown by the party cadre, Ministers and civil servants to the presiding deity.
The immediate priority in front of the AIADMK leadership is to elect the new general secretary of the party. “This is going to be the most crucial decision the AIADMK leaders have to make,” said a senior commentator based in Chennai.
He pointed out that while Jayalalithaa was in command, she could balance the caste, community and regional equilibrium with élan and poise. Referring to local newspaper reports that Panneerselvam was appointed as Chief Minister at the instance of Sasikala, he said that could not be true. “Panneerselvam belongs to the Thevar community, which wield enormous power in the AIADMK. But Sasikala is also from the same community. How is it possible to have the same community people in two important positions in a State where the caste equations are so sensitiveIJ” asked the commentator.
The names of lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Thambi Durai and former Minister Senkottaiyyan,(both trusted aides of Jayalalithaa) are also doing the rounds as potential candidates for the post of general secretary. Both are from the equally powerful Gaunder community from south west Tamil Nadu with headquarters in Coimbatore.
“Jayalalithaa had readmitted Sasikala to Veda Nilayam in 2012 after the latter issued a public statement that she had disassociated with all her relations and her life was dedicated to Akka (Tamil for elder sister, as Sasikala used to address Jayalalithaa). But her entire relatives including her husband Natarajan who had been a persona nona grata in Veda Nilayam infiltrated into the house later on. What is her credibility and sincerityIJ” asked a senior AIADMK leader.
He said the cadre was totally against Sasikala and her family members. “Please remember that we had celebrated her ouster from Veda Nilayam in 2012 by bursting crackers. You can image what will happen if she becomes the general secretary,” said the AIADMK leader who was a trusted follower of Jayalalithaa for almost three decades.