4 years since dramatic vow, VK Sasikala vows to visit Jayalalithaa's memorial after July 5

In a big statement of intent, ex-AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala declared that she will visit the late J Jayalalithaa's memorial in Chennai after July 5. Located on the Marina Beach, it is a 'phoenix' themed structure spread over 14,100 square feet which house the mausoleum of the late Tamil Nadu CM. During her last visit before leaving for jail in February 2017, she set the political circles abuzz after she took a vow to "defeat the conspiracy, avenge the betrayal and endure the hardship" by thumping Jayalalithaa's grave thrice. 

Republic TV accessed a new audiotape by Sasikala in which she told party cadre Jeevanantham, "Yes, they say the lockdown continues until July 5... So will see until then, post that will see the situation, and then go visit Amma memorial at Marina and then start visiting you all." 

Multiple conversations of the former AIADMK leader have surfaced in the last few weeks in which she is heard promising a fresh bid to reclaim AIADMK post its debacle in the Assembly election. However, the AIADMK leadership has warned party cadres against having any connection with the late J Jayalalithaa's aide. A day earlier, ex-TN CM E Palaniswami ruled out the possibility of her having an impact on the party and accused the media of giving unnecessary hype to these conversations.

Sasikala's political exile

On January 27, Sasikala was formally released from prison after serving a 4-year jail term in the Rs.66 crore disproportionate assets case. But, she was discharged from the Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru only on January 31 as she was undergoing treatment for COVID-19. After receiving a raucous welcome on her return to Tamil Nadu, the ousted AIADMK leader declared that she would enter full-fledged politics soon.

However, in a sudden change of stance on March 3, she decided to step aside from politics to ensure that "all followers of Jayalalithaa stay together" to defeat DMK in the TN Assembly polls. In another interesting turn of events on March 24, the then TN Deputy CM O Panneerselvam made a U-turn by hinting at the possibility of re-inducting her in AIADMK. The AIADMK coordinator told a Tamil news channel that he was ready to reconsider his stance on Sasikala's re-entry provided that she accepted the "internal democracy" in the party.

According to him, this decision would be taken on the grounds of "humanity" as she had been with Jayalalithaa for many decades. Maintaining that he did not suspect the expelled AIADMK general secretary of having a role in Jayalalithaa's death, Panneerselvam claimed that he suggested the formation of an inquiry commission so that she is cleared of all charges. Coming days ahead of the state election, the intervention of OPS was perceived as a rebuff to E Palaniswami who refused to approve an alliance with the TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK.