The Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) is expected to meet on 30 December to endorse the blitzkrieg by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa earlier this week: expelling friend, advisor and ‘sister’ VK Sasikala and 14 members of her family from the official residence of the Chief Minister, the ADMK and Jayalalithaa supporters hope, permanently from her life.
An official announcement stated that 14 persons had been expelled for their “gross interference in administration and political overreach”. The expelled include a sister and three brothers of Sasikala; three sons of the sister; a son each of two brothers and a brother of Natarajan, Sasikala’s husband.
Sasikala’s relations with Jayalalithaa date back to 1983. Originally a video parlour owner, she managed to get close to Jayalalithaa when ADMK supremo MG Ramachandran made her propaganda secretary —Sasikala used to videograph her tours. In 1991, when Jayalalithaa became the Chief Minister, Sasikala moved to Poes Garden.
Amid all the nudge-nudge wink-wink gossip that accompanied this move, Jayalalithaa kept her cool and Sasikala profited, becoming an alternative pole of power in the ADMK and government. When the party lost power in 1996, Sasikala found herself out following allegations that she and her husband had bought and sold party positions. But it was a short exile and Sasikala soon returned to the fold.
2000 saw a revolt in the party: Karuppasamy Pandian, Sedapatti R. Muthiah and S. Regupathy were sacked from the ADMK. They were considered among the most powerful leaders in the party. S Muthiah was the only one to hit back vocally. He said they’d been expelled because Jayalalithaa had become "a handmaiden of the Mannargudi mafia" (Sasikala's family belongs to Mannargudi, near Thanjavur, in Tamil Nadu) "Jayalalithaa has become bold enough to destroy and bury the ADMK, founded by MGR (former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran) and built on the blood of its cadres... The Mannargudi group, which has occupied Poes Garden, has a big plan..." He said, amongst other things, that a party property (what was earlier the Safire theatre) in Chennai had been advertised for sale without identifying it or mentioning its owner, the ADMK.
Muthiah’s outburst indicated publicly for the first time, how much power sasikala and her family had come to wield in the party. But Jayalalithaa apparently didn’t mind this for it was balanced by Sasikala’s loyalty: she stayed by Jayalalithaa’s side through her years in the wilderness and all her legal tribulations. In the 2011 assembly elections, a random headcount, ADMK supporters said, revealed that 70 to 75 MLAs out of the 148 ADMK owed their nominations to interventions by Sasikala or her relatives.
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Tamil newspapers report that this, and other facts were brought to Jayalalithaa’s knowledge by her current well-wisher Cho Ramaswamy. He is also reported to have told Jayalalithaa the extent of influence in bureaucratic transfers and postings that the ‘Mannargudi mafia’ appeared to enjoy. It is hard to verify this. But it is a fact that Officer on Special Duty A Panneerselvam and Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Intelligence) Pon Manickavel, were shifted from their positions hours before Sasikala was given the marching orders.
A day after Sasikala’s expulsion, crackers were burst at many places by party members and in Tirupur, some workers had their heads tonsured to give thanks for Jayalalithaa’s decision. Tamil Nadu observers say a purge in the Tamil Nadu bureaucracy in the coming days to exorcise the Sasikala effect, is on the cards. Action against the Mannargudi mafia’s dealings cannot be ruled out either. But others who know the home-office politics of the ADMK chief, say they would rather wait and see if the expulsion and subsequent actions are permanent—because tiffs between Jayalalithaa and Sasikala have been quite common.
So far, there has been no reaction to the action: all that the other side has done is a Sudarshana homam performed at the Sri Ranganathaswami temple in Srirangam two days ago, apparently seeking divine help and protection. Srirangam is Jayalalithaa’s assembly constituency. If, and how Sasikala’s family and supporters hit back remains to be seen.