The rumour mill has been working overtime. There is speculation over her possible ailment, the real decision-makers and who they are and assorted theories. Her party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) staunchly says that she might be indisposed but rumours are just an attempt to create confusion among people and that the government is always run by Jayalalithaa.
However, in matters of routine day-to-day governance, Sheela Balakrishnan, former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official and advisor to the chief minister, seems to be the one taking decisions. She has been considered a close aide to Jayalalithaa from 2011 to 2015 and again, 2016 onwards. The 62-year-old Balakrishnan, a native of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, is a 1976 batch IAS officer, who started her career as assistant collector (training) in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, in 1977.
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Sources state Balakrishnan, who superannuated as chief secretary to the state government on March 31, 2014, and has been the advisor to the government from then on, has been running the day-to-day affairs from Apollo Hospital. There are also reports that she is among the few officers who supported the government when Jayalalithaa was arrested in September 2014, and her confidante and finance minister O Panneerselvam replaced her as chief minister for a few months.
According to reports during the time, Jayalalithaa's group of advisors included her current Principal Secretary-I K N Venkataramanan, Secretary-I to Chief Minister M Sheela Priya and retired director general of police K Ramanujam.
While rumours about the seriousness of her ailment were doing the rounds, the government issued a release on September 27, stating that the chief minister had conducted a meeting in Apollo Hospital regarding the Cauvery issue and had dictated a speech that was later read out by the chief secretary to the government at the meeting of executive heads of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
The state government also issued a press release with a statement from the chief minister announcing bonus for employees of state public sector undertakings. The morning after Jayalalithaa was admitted in the hospital, she announced new schemes related to the Information Technology Department.
In a press release issued on October 3, chief secretary of the state Shashi Shekhar urged the Centre to withdraw its interlocutory petition in the Supreme Court and form the Cauvery Management Boad as directed by the top court.
Interestingly, Panneerselvam, who replaced her twice as chief minister when she was disqualified to hold the position related to two orders in courts, has not been heard of late.
AIADMK officials laugh at the reports that Balakrishnan and other administrative experts are running the show now.
"As far as the AIADMK is concerned, it is only Amma (Mother, as she is called by her partymen), who is the authority," said C R Saraswathi, spokesperson for the AIADMK. "Rumours are coming thick and fast. When one fails, another one will emerge. This is just another one. The government is always run by Amma and of course, the administrators will assist her and there is nothing new in it."