V K Sasikala, the close aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa was on Sunday discharged from the Victoria Hospital in Bangalore where she was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 after her release from jail on January 27 following completion of four-year jail term. She was convicted in Rs 66 crore disproportionate assets case.
Incidentally the vehicle carrying her sported the flag of AIADMK, thus giving enough signal about her political plans.
It needs to be mentioned that Sasikala, 66, along with her nephew T T V Dhinakaran were expelled from the AIADMK in September 2017 by the General Council of the party under the leadership of chief minister Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam after the two leaders merged their respective factions. This development took place just nine months after the death of Jayalalithaa. It needs to be mentioned that it was Panneerselvam who first became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu after the death of Jayalalithaa on December 5, 2016. This threw the party in turmoil. But two months later the two leaders agreed to work together with Palaniswami as CM.
AIADMK, however, questioned the use of the party flag by Sasikala .“How Sasikala, who is not even a party member, could use the party flag? This is against the law,” D Jayakumar, the state fisheries minister asked.
But Dhinakaran, the general secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, said that she is the general secretary of the AIADMK. He floated this party in March 2018 after Sasikala was expelled from the party and was in jail.
Dhinakran said that the legal battle to retrieve the AIADMK would continue and added that this was the very purpose of setting up of the AMMK.
As per the doctors’ advice Sasikala would stay in Bangalore for a week.
It needs to be mentioned that only on Saturday the BJP president J P Nadda announced in a public meeting in Madurai that his party would contest the coming Assembly election in Tamil Nadu in alliance with the AIADMK.
If Sasikala really poses any challenge it would further complicate the problem for AIADMK-BJP alliance which was completely routed in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
