Thread by @BiIndia

#Sasikala returns in an election year⁠ — a woman who has won and lost it all one too many times has another shot at power

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By @SanchDash

@SanchDash #Sasikala has been an important part of #TamilNadu politics for over three decades, functioning as the woman ‘next in power’ after the late #Jayalalithaa.

@SanchDash “I believe she would want to correct the perception that #Jayalalithaa was the good person and #Sasikala was the bad influence. She will want to set the record straight,” a senior journalist said.

@SanchDash #Sasikala will be formally released from jail today after serving a four-year sentence for a corruption case. She, however, will continue to be treated in the hospital for #COVID19.

@SanchDash Neither her chequered past and the jail term, nor being infected by COVID-19 virus, would make her less of a player in #TamilNadu politics. Hopes and fears are surging about the role that she could choose to play in the upcoming state assembly elections.

#Sasikala

@SanchDash The incumbent Chief Minister, #EdappadiPalanisamy, was Sasikala’s choice before the party distanced itself. He recently said there’s no chance Sasikala will be reinstated into the AIADMK but as the cliche goes, there are no permanent friends or foes in politics.

#Sasikala

@SanchDash Sasikala isn’t just the woman in jail no. 9234. She has been an important part of #TamilNadu politics for over three decades, functioning as the woman ‘next in power’ after Jayalalithaa.

#Sasikala

👉 From running a video cassette business to being #TamilNadu’s second most powerful woman.

In the early 1980s, in Chennai’s Alwarpet tucked away was a tiny little shop “Vinod Video Centre”. That video rental business was run by Sasikala Natarajan.

#Sasikala

👉 The rise of the Mannargudi Mafia

Even when Jayalalithaa ousted Natarajan from the house in 1990, Sasikala stayed back. Sasikala’s clout, often derisively described as the “Mannargudi Mafia”, is still omnipresent in the state.

#Sasikala

👉 Jayalalithaa and Sasikala – not a completely rosy picture

In a move that shocked many, in 2011, Jayalalithaa had expelled Sasikala and 13 of her family members from AIADMK. But soon after in 2012, the Tamil Nadu CM marked a U-turn by reinstating Sasikala.

#Sasikala

👉 Jayalalithaa’s death and Sasikala’s close brush with being the CM

Sasikala bounced back to prominence and cemented her position as Jayalalithaa’s most important aide by the time of the latter’s death in December 2016.

#Sasikala

👉 Sasikala’s world goes tumbling down

In February 2017, Sasikala was sent to jail along with her nephew V N Sudhagaran and sister-in-law J Elavarasi in the disproportionate assets case.

#Sasikala

👉 One more chance for Sasikala

To put it very mildly, Sasikala’s emergence from jail ahead of the #TamilNadu polls is likely to make it a lot more interesting.

#Sasikala