The conviction of VK Sasikala by the Supreme Court on corruption charges marks the end of decades-long saga of control over the top layers of the government.
These decades saw the growth of the wife of an assistant in the government publicity department, Sasikala Natarajan, as she was known then, and daughter of medical compounder, becoming the close confidante of a chief minister to a contender for the top spot in the government.
The Supreme Court, in its verdict, notes Sasikala was initially an “occasional visitor” to the residence of the former Chief Minister Late J Jayalalithaa at 36, Poes Garden, Chennai, and “started permanently living there from 1988 onwards and was acknowledged and declared by Jayalalithaa as her friend-cum-sister”.
But to the public, she was always a shadowy figure who wielded huge influence over the former CM. She was popularly perceived as an extra constitutional authority even between the 1991-1996 period when Jayalalithaa became the chief minister for the first time.
Till the death of Jayalalithaa in December 2016, little was known to the public except that she was a close confidante of the former chief minister.
But in just over two months since Jayalalithaa’s death, there has been a demonstration of her power that hit a roadblock with the court verdict.
While O Panneerselvam, Treasurer of AIADMK, was sworn in for the third time as Chief Minister the same night Jayalalithaa died, the questions were – when would Sasikala come out into the open, who would be the general secretary of the ruling party, and would she rest with that post or fight for a larger role? It was of little matter that she had not been in public sphere previously or stood for elections.
But on December 29, just three weeks after Jayalalithaa’s death, she was elected to the post of General Secretary of the AIADMK. Immediately, the shadowy presence, occasionally seen standing behind Jayalalithaa, morphed into a lookalike with a similar dressing style and speech.
While there were widespread murmurs of resentment among the public and party supporters, the arrangement appeared to have settled for a few short weeks before Sasikala sprung another surprise. On February 5, the AIADMK Legislators elected her as the leader of the Legislature Party, effectively paving way for the post of chief minister.
It was only the Governor Vidyasagar Rao’s playing it cool and awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court – finding her guilty and disqualifying her from holding public office – that put the brakes to her ambition.