AIADMK expels ex-Tamil Nadu Min Anwar Raja amid his support for Sasikala's reinduction

On Tuesday, veteran politician and former MP Anwar Raja was expelled from AIADMK for indulging in "anti-party activities" and intent to harm the party's reputation. Raja who was the Labour Minister in the Tamil Nadu Cabinet during 2001-2006 when the late J Jayalalithaa was the CM had been questioning AIADMK's alliance with BJP and the dual leadership of O Paneerselvam and E Palaniswami in the last few months. His support for ex-AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala's reinduction in the party at a recent meeting of district secretaries is being perceived as one of the key reasons for his ouster.

Speaking to the media on October 30, Raja had welcomed Panneerselvam’s statement that the AIADMK high command would discuss and decide about the reinduction of Sasikala into the party. He was quoted as saying by ANI, “I wholeheartedly welcome what O Panneerselvam said. Sasikala and AIADMK leaders should join together. Staying separate is not good". 

Here is AIADMK's statement on Anwar Raja's expulsion: 

Sasikala seeks to regain AIADMK control

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.

In a sudden change of heart 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. However, in the last few months, multiple conversations of the ousted AIADMK general secretary have surfaced in which she is heard promising a fresh bid to take back control of the party post its debacle in the election. On her comeback trail, the late J Jayalalithaa's aide has been reaching out to lower-level and mid-level functionaries of AIADMK.

Training guns on the present party leadership in these conversations, she has vowed to set the party right. Brandishing her political credentials, Sasikala recalled having given "advice" to AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran besides claiming credit for bridging the gap between the Janaki Ramachandran faction and the Jayalalithaa faction after MGR passed away. Besides visiting Jayalalithaa's memorial, she also toured Thanjavur, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Pasumpon and Tirunelveli recently.