V K Sasikala visits Jaya memorial after four-and-a-half years

Sasikala’s visit to the memorial comes a day before the AIADMK enters its golden jubilee year on Sunday

A teary-eyed V K Sasikala, ousted interim general secretary of the AIADMK, on Saturday visited the memorial of her long-time friend and late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for the first time in four-and-a-half years, setting off intense speculation about her political comeback.

Sasikala’s visit to the memorial – the last place she visited on February 15, 2017, before proceeding to Bengaluru to surrender before authorities of Parappana Agrahara prison for serving a four-year jail term in a disproportionate assets (DA) case – is significant in more ways than one. The visit came a day before the AIADMK was to enter its golden jubilee year.

Sasikala had planned to visit the memorial following her return from Bengaluru this year. However, the then AIADMK government led by her one-time protégé Edappadi K Palaniswami, had closed the memorial on the pretext of maintenance and construction activities.

Sasikala left her residence in upscale T. Nagar at 10.30 am after the “inauspicious” rahu kalam ended and was greeted by hundreds of her supporters on her way to the memorial on Marina Beach. The car in which she travelled was the same vehicle used by Jayalalithaa and had AIADMK flag on its bonnet.

At the Jayalalithaa’s memorial, Sasikala turned emotional and was seen wiping her tears, while laying a wreath.

“Everyone knows the reason why I came here so late. I don’t want to talk about the past. I have poured my heart to her (Jayalalithaa). I told her whatever happened (in the past five years). I am confident Thalaivar (MGR) and Amma (Jayalalithaa) will save the AIADMK and its cadre. The future will be good,” Sasikala told reporters during a brief interaction.

Sasikala also spoke about her association with Jayalalithaa in a bid to strike a chord with the cadres. “Amma and I were inseparable. I spent more than half of my life with Amma,” Sasikala said.

Though Sasikala did not spell out definite plans about her political plunge, analysts say the former interim leader of the AIADMK has thrown ample hints that she would stake the claim for the party leadership. Sasikala, who had “stepped aside” from politics before the April 6 assembly elections, has been openly talking about “reclaiming” the AIADMK after the party’s defeat in the polls.

Sasikala, who will visit MGR’s residence in Ramapuram on Sunday morning to mark 49 years of AIADMK’s existence, is expected to tour the state as part of her efforts to garner support to take over the AIADMK leadership. Though Sasikala has been claiming that the cadre are with her, the AIADMK top brass including Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam have been maintaining that she will not be taken back into the party.

Reacting to Sasikala’s visit, former AIADMK minister D Jayakumar called the trip a “stunt” and mocked the ousted leader saying she can be considered for an “Oscar award” for her “acting skills” but will never be allowed back into the party.

“Every day a lakh people visit Amma’s (Jayalalithaa’s) memorial, and she (Sasikala) is just one among them. There is no need to talk more about the visit,” he said.

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