Tamil Nadu Assembly polls: AIADMK elated over Sasikala 'stepping aside' from politics, but TTV still a concern

It will will ensure that the 'core vote bank' of the party does not get split

The mood in Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK camp was jubilant on Thursday with senior leaders welcoming V K Sasikala's decision to “step aside” from politics as a “positive development” for the party, which is facing an acid test in the April 6 Assembly polls.

The leaders who spoke to DH on the condition of anonymity said that the two-page statement by Sasikala, who once controlled the AIADMK from the sidelines, will ensure that the “core vote bank” of the party does not get split this time, unlike in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“The statement will help us immensely in the elections and it comes just a month before the party faces its most crucial test in recent years. Though Sasikala did not mention the AIADMK in her statement, her appeal to true loyalists of J Jayalalithaa to ensure the continuance of Amma's rule will force her sympathisers to side with us,” a senior party leader said.

Sasikala pointing out that the “common enemy” for Jayalalithaa's loyalists is DMK will also help the AIADMK and Palaniswami, who is the chief ministerial face of the alliance led by the party, the leader added.

Read: With Sasikala out of picture, who are the key players in Tamil Nadu Assembly polls?

Sasikala “stepping aside” from politics has come as a shot in the arm, albeit for now, for Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who stonewalled every effort by the BJP and others to get his former boss back into the AIADMK fold. The decision gives enough room for him to further consolidate his position within the AIADMK before the elections and call the shots in the candidate selection.

Palaniswami was visibly relieved and happy on Thursday when he addressed ticket aspirants from the AIADMK.

“There is no force that can defeat us if we win this Assembly election. Everyone should consider themselves as the candidate and work for the party,” Palaniswami said, even as O Panneerselvam endorsed his leadership yet again.

Sasikala's announcement is a body blow to her nephew T T V Dhinakaran, who now heads Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). The party that he launched to “retrieve” AIADMK failed to have much impact in the 2019 Lok Sabha and by-elections, leading to many leaders seeking refuge with the parent party.

“Dhinakaran might be terribly upset and shattered. It will be very difficult for him to keep his flock together now. There would have been an immediate exodus from the AMMK to AIADMK if Sasikala's statement had mentioned that both parties should work together. The exodus might now take time,” another senior leader said.

Asked whether “stepping aside” means Sasikala is keeping the door open to take the political plunge in the event of AIADMK losing the election, the leader said: “The decision is good for us in the current situation. If there emerges a different situation a few months later, we will deal with it. We will cross the bridge when it comes.”