Fissures and rumblings within the ruling AIADMK may have been overcome for the present at any rate with a planned change-over in leadership, from O. Panneerselvam to Chinnamma — V.K. Sasikala (62), highly preferred for her close association with late Amma — Jayalalithaa. She is already the General Secretary of the Party and has taken full control of the Party.
Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, who had been Amma’s preferred choice to officiate for her during periods of her absence, was the obvious leader to lead the government with a swearing-in ceremony in Raj Bhavan, in the wee hours of the passing away of Jayalalithaa in hospital on December 5.
Panneerselvam seemed to be well settling down to his new decision-making responsibilities in the post-Jaya phase, confronting the aftermath of a vicious December storm, widespread drought and massive Jallikattu agitations in Marina, Chennai and in southern districts.
He had established lines of communication with Prime Minister Modi, whom he met to
lay bare the state’s problems. He also succeeded in getting the Centre’s concurrence in enacting a new state law for staging Jallikattu, thus ending the state-wide agitation. By and large, his credibility to lead the government was being recognised.
However, a section of influential partymen including ministers had begun clamouring for change, once Sasikala had been appointed General Secretary, the highest post in the Party. At the meeting of AIADMK MLAs on February 5, Sasikala was unanimously elected leader of the ruling party. Panneerselvam himself proposed her name.
Thanking the party for the trust reposed in her, Sasikala committed herself to “fulfilling the dreams of Amma” and to “work for the people”. She is likely to be sworn in as Chief Minister on February 9, with Panneerselvam having submitted his resignation “for personal reasons” to the Governor.
Sasikala’s elevation, however, has not gone down well with DMK, PMK and BJP. While there is some scorn in sections of the political class over the development, given the cases involving members of Sasikala’s family, the DMK leader M K Stalin has questioned the “legitimacy” itself of such a change-over.
The ebullient Stalin, who heads the 89-member DMK opposition in the 234-member House, is expected to lead his party in aggressive posturings in and outside the Assembly. He opined that Panneerselvam had been settling down to tackling some of the serious issues, and questioned the need for foisting Sasikala as CM.
In recent weeks, there had also been signs of protest among AIADMK men at lower levels at Sasikala being drawn to the centre-stage. Sasikala, as General Secretary, had also begun rejigging the party set-up, bringing back some ex-ministers and other leading workers to new posts to promote more cohesion.
The AIADMK top-level changes may have some impact on political trends in the coming months. Among other parties, TNCC President Thirunavukkarasan, VCK of Dalit leader Thirumavalavan, MDMK of Vaiko and CPI and CPM do not see anything amiss in inner party decisions in AIADMK. K Veeramani of the Dravida Kazhagam and an ardent follower of “Periyar” had also welcomed Sasikala’s entry into active politics when she took over as General Secretary of AIADMK. Some of these leaders had also called on her.
Sasikala derives her huge popularity in the party, essentially from her 33-year-old close association with the late Amma. Partymen are guided by innate faith that she would carry the mantle of Amma in facing problems and countering political challenges.
Undoubtedly, there are apprehensions of attempts to weaken the party after the passing away of charismatic Jayalalithaa. Hence, influential sections of partymen had begun clamouring for leadership of government also to be vested in her as the two posts were held by the same person, as was the case with MGR and Amma.
Her assuming office as Chief Minister will be a meteoric rise for Sasikala, once a shop-keeper, introduced to Jayalalithaa in the early 1980s and not long after, she moved into Poes Garden, official residence of Jayalalithaa. She ran the household since 1991 when Jayalalithaa became Chief Minister in the post-MGR era and remained part of the family whether Amma was in power or not.
Even after being ousted by Jayalalithaa in 2012 on a suspicion of her acting against her interests, she was allowed to rejoin within some weeks once she tendered an unconditional apology. Sasikala was not assigned any political work but functioned like an aide throughout and stayed in hospital by her side from the day the Chief Minister entered Apollo Hospital in September till her end on December 5.
For AIADMK partymen, this closeness of Sasikala with Amma and her general awareness of the goings on in politics in Poes Garden, where she continued to stay after the demise of the Chief Minister, qualified for her eligibility for a political role. Some of the partymen felt the other way, that Sasikala had only limited exposure to play of politics.
Though she remained in the shadows of the late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, she did show her mettle with her first political statement after taking over as General Secretary of the party on December 31 She called on party workers to beware of attempts to defame the party and defeat “the forces of conspiracy against AIADMK” .
As constitutionally required, Sasikala has to get elected to the 234-member TN Assembly within six months, from the date she takes office as Chief Minister. But her assumption of office will be at a time when Tamil Nadu is grappling with the consequences of natural disasters, farmer distress in the water-starved crop area, with demands to be met, huge budgetary shortfalls, and growth slowdown.
Demonetisation had hit Tamil Nadu hard for wage earners — both rural and urban — and also affected government revenues. Even major industries like sugar, leather, automotive, cement and electronics await more decisive business-friendly policies and de-regulations at the state level for revival of growth.
At the political level, when Sasikala takes over as Chief Minister, she would have to meet the Prime Minister and secure some safeguards such as on the Cauvery water dispute. Her first political test at the field level would come during the local bodies elections scheduled for April. BJP at the Centre lays great store by AIADMK support with the party’s strong presence in Parliament.
In engaging Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Modi would also be looking for some trade-offs aimed at ensuring stronger presence for his party in the southern state. Already BJP has an ally TDP ruling Andhra Pradesh.
