Chennai: From being just a backstage confidante of late J. Jayalalithaa for more than three decades to her appointment as AIADMK general secretary after her ‘elder sister’ J. Jayalalithaa's death last year and to her virtual removal from the party — V. K. Sasikala's rise in the party was meteoric as was her fall.
Six months after she came at a sniffing distance of occupying the Chief Minister's chair when fate intervened in the way of a Supreme Court ruling that convicted her in decades-old disproportionate assets (DA) case, Sasikala became a liability for the Edappadi Palaniswami-O. Panneerselvam era of the AIADMK as the dissent with the party and hatred towards the Mannargudi family only rose day by day.
Sasikala's appointment as general secretary of the AIADMK and her election as leader of the Legislature Party were smooth affair but odds were staked against her after she was sent to jail for 4 years and her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran landing in Tihar jail for attempting to bribe Election Commission officials to get a favourable order for his faction in the "Two Leaves" symbol case.
And allegations that she bribed officials inside the Parapana Agrahara prison to get "five star" facilities in her cell came as a body blow to Sasikala and her faction. Videos after videos that showed Sasikala returning, "after shopping" and enjoying "five star" facilities only emboldened the EPS faction to distance itself from them.
In April, under tremendous pressure from the O. Panneerselvam camp, Edappadi K Palaniswami openly distanced the AIADMK from Sasikala and her family and also ensured that Dhinakaran does not enjoy any support among the AIADMK cadres and leaders. And even when MLAs met Dhinakaran after his return from Tihar, Edappadi Palaniswami played smart by bringing them into his fold yet again.
The end game for the Sasikala family began early April after the Election Commission cancelled the bypolls to R K Nagar constituency due to allegations of rampant use of money power and it took four months for the EPS faction to oust the entire clan from the AIADMK.
Though Mrs Sasikala does not have any links with the film industry like her predecessors, most importantly M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, films in a way had contributed to her proximity to late Jayalalithaa as their friendship began through the video cassette shop that she was running in the 80s.
Born in 1957 in Mannargudi in Thanjavur district, Sasikala hails from a lower middle class family, which was living in a three-room residence at the Municipal Colony, but their economic condition got better after her brother Vinodhagan established himself as a doctor. Moving to Chennai after her marriage to M. Natarajan, a Government PRO then, she chose the business of video renting, besides buying a video camera to shoot marriages in her locality.
When Jayalalithaa visited Cuddalore to attend a party conference in 1984, Sasikala offered to videograph the campaign. Slowly, she entered the good books of the AIADMK leader and gained entry into Poes Garden. Over a period of time, Sasikala became the most trusted companion of late Jayalalithaa and stood by her in good times as well as bad times.
Many a times, the departed leader had described Sasikala as her "udanpirava sagothari" who filled the void caused by the loss of her mother Sandhya. It was in the late 1980s, Mrs Sasikala moved to the sprawling Poes Garden residence of late Jayalalithaa and has been living there since then, through she was expelled from the house and from the party twice - in 1996 and 2011. However, Sasikala was back at Poes Garden in March 2012 after she publicly distanced herself from her family members.
She was staying with Jayalalithaa till her death. Sasikala performed the last rites for her friend, along with Deepak, son of Jayalalithaa's brother.
Even when Jayalalithaa was alive, Sasikala had a major role in party affairs, influencing the choice of state and district level functionaries. She also had a key role in preparing the list of AIADMK candidates for Assembly and Parliament elections, besides the appointment and dismissal of ministers.
From Jaya’s death to split to merger
December 5, 2016: J. Jayalalithaa passes away
December 10, 2016: Majority of AIADMK leaders request Sasikala to take over as party chief
December 29, 2016: AIADMK General Council appoints V K Sasikala as General Secretary
December 31, 2016: V K Sasikala takes over as AIADMK General Secretary
January 2, 2017: Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai asks Sasikala to take over as Chief Minister
February 5, 2017: Sasikala elected as AIADMK Legislature Party leader
February 7, 2017: O Panneerselvam revolts against Sasikala; says he was forced to resign
February 8, 2017: AIADMK MLAs shifted to Koovathur resort near Chennai
February 14, 2017: Edappadi K Palaniswami elected as AIADMK Legislature party leader after Sasikala was convicted in disproportionate assets case by the Supreme Court
February 15, 2017: Sasikala lodged in Parapana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru; she appoints T T V Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary
February 16, 2017: Edappadi K Palaniswami sworn-in as chief minister
February 18, 2017: Edappadi K Palaniswami Government wins trust vote amid boycott by DMK members
April 2017: OPS and EPS camp mull over merger; forms committee to negotiate merger
April 18, 2017: EPS camp distances itself from Sasikala and her family
April 25, 2017: Dhinakaran arrested in Election Commission bribery case
June 5, 2017: Dhinakaran gives two month deadline for factions to unite; says he will stay away from party till August 4
June 11, 2017: OPS disbands merger committee; says merger thing of past
July 24, 2017: OPS meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi; PM broaches merger
July 27, 2017: OPS meets Modi again in Madurai
August 4, 2017: Dhinakaran announces new office bearers and says he will undertake state-wide tour
August 10, 2017: EPS camp virtually removes Dhinakaran from AIADMK
August 11, 2017: EPS meets Modi in New Delhi; merger talks put on fast track
August 14, 2017: OPS meets Modi in New Delhi; Dhinakaran shows his strength at Melur public meeting
August 17, 2017: EPS announces probe into Jayalalithaa's death and converts Poes Garden residence into memorial
August 21, 2017: EPS-OPS factions unite; OPS takes oath as deputy chief
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