In February 2017, before heading to Bengaluru to surrender before a court, VK Sasikala stopped by the grave of J Jayalalithaa on Marina Bea...
In February 2017, before heading to Bengaluru to surrender before a court, VK Sasikala stopped by the grave of J Jayalalithaa on Marina Beach in Chennai. She slapped the grave three times. The dramatic gesture, many believe, was nothing short of a vow to return to Tamil Nadu as its chief minister someday.
Sasikala had served as Jayalalithaa’s closest friend and aide for nearly three decades until the former chief minister and leader of the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam died in December 2016. The second most powerful person in the party, Sasikala made a bid for the chief minister’s post after Jayalalithaa’s death. But her bid was cut short by the Supreme Court upholding her conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act for amassing assets disproportionate to her known income. A lower court had sentenced her to four years in jail.
Much has changed in the AIADMK in the three years since Sasikala went to jail. O Panneerselvam, the acting chief minister of Tamil Nadu when Jayalalithaa died, who dramatically revolted against Sasikala and her family, eventually merged his faction with the parent party in 2018 and became the deputy chief minister.
Edappadi K Palaniswamy, who prostrated before Sasikala at a legislature party meeting when...
