Sasikala visits ailing AIADMK leader; waits for EPS to leave the hospital

Sending out a strong political message, ousted AIADMK interim general secretary V K Sasikala on Tuesday drove to the Apollo Hospital to enquire about the health of an ailing party senior who had rebelled against her in 2017.

High drama was witnessed outside the hospital on Tuesday afternoon as Sasikala waited inside her car for about five minutes for Opposition Leader Edappadi K Palaniswami to leave the premises. Palaniswami was inside the hospital to meet the family of E Madhusudhanan, who is critically ill and is being treated at the ICU of the hospital.

Sasikala’s visit to the hospital is significant in more ways than one — the car in which she travelled was used by J Jayalalithaa and the vehicle sported the AIADMK flag on its bonnet. This is also Sasikala’s first public appearance after she announced her intention to make a comeback into politics in May this year.

“Madhusudhanan is an AIADMK veteran. He is part of our family. He has been associated with Thalaivar (M G Ramachandran) since his days in Tamil cinema. I came to inquire about his health from his family members,” Sasikala told reporters after her visit to the hospital.

Palaniswami, who was at the hospital to inquire about Madhusudhanan’s health, left the premises after he was told that Sasikala was on her way. Sasikala was inside her car for five minutes before entering the hospital.

By visiting the hospital to inquire about the health of a person who had rebelled against her, political observers said, Sasikala has sent a strong message to EPS and OPS that she was determined to stake a claim for the party leadership.

They said one must remember Madhusudhanan had openly rebelled against her and sided with Panneerselvam in 2017. The observers added that this was Sasikala’s way of announcing that she was ready for a patch-up.

Sasikala’s attempt to make a comeback to the party is being resisted by Palaniswami, who was handpicked by her to be the Chief Minister in 2017.