Two months after Jayalalithaa's death, 'Chinamma' Sasikala makes her move

When former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran died in 1987, his wife and successor N Janaki would only be able to hold the post for 24 days. Three decades later, the death of Ramachandran’s political heir J Jayalalithaa has led to a similarly short-lived tenure, except this time without any of the public fireworks.

On Sunday, two months to the day since Jayalalithaa was declared dead and he was sworn in, O Panneerselvam resigned as chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders then elected VK Sasikala as the leader of the Legislature party, clearing the decks for ‘Chinamma’ to be sworn in as chief minister in the coming week. The swearing-in ceremony is likely to take place in by February 9, and Sasikala will then have six months to contest and win a state assembly seat if she wants to remain in power.

Caretaker no more

Back when Jayalalithaa was alive, Panneerselvam frequently acted as a caretaker chief minister, holding on to the post during portions when “Amma” was legally unable to do so. After Jayalalithaa’s death, Pannerselvam was sworn in as the state’s new chief minister overnight, with no sign of the violence or internal wrangling that has accompanied political deaths in the past. It also provided “OPS”, who had for long been the official number two in the party, a chance to administer the state without Amma looking over his shoulder.

As things turned out, Pannerselvam ended up acting as a caretaker chief minister yet again. Soon after he was sworn in, parts of the AIADMK began calling for Sasikala to be given the post instead. A close aide of Jayalalithaa for much of her political career, Sasikala had never held public or political office until she was elected general secretary of the AIADMK in December. Once she won that position, party leaders repeatedly made public appeals for “Chinamma” to be made the chief minister, and the AIADMK propaganda machine began working in overdrive to portray Sasikala as the true heir to Amma.

Vardah and Jallikattu

Meanwhile, beyond internal party battles, Pannerselvam’s short-lived two-month tenure was far from uneventful. Right after Jayalalithaa’s death, Tamil Nadu was hit by Cyclone Vardah. Pannerselvam’s efficient response to the massive storm seemed to earn him plaudits from the people, for whom 2015’s disastrous Chennai floods are still fresh memories.

This was then followed by the Tamil festival of Pongal, when once again sections of the public and politicians demanded that they be allowed to perform Jallikattu, a violent bull-baiting tradition that had been banned after reports of brutality by animal welfare boards. The ban on Jallikattu turned into a spark that brought thousands of people out in protests that would occupy Chennai’s Marina beach for days and eventually had to be cleared out by authorities.

The state government eventually passed an ordinance allowing Jallikattu to be performed, but not before television channels spent days showing thousands of protestors criticise politicians and the chief minister in a way that might not have been possible under Jayalalithaa. Panneerselvam’s inability to immediately handle the situation led to his name being one of the most criticised in the protests, and might have given Sasikala’s supporters within the party even more ballast.

Sasikala’s challenges

But Sasikala is by no means a more popular politician than the man she will be replacing. Although she seems to now have overwhelming support within the AIADMK, the wider public knows her as a woman whose family spent decades in the shadows behind Jayalalithaa, and were often accused of misusing their access as a means of enriching themselves. The most public manifestation of this is Sasikala’s presence on the accused list in the disproportionate assets case that once caused Jayalalithaa to be barred from the chief ministerial post.

Jayalalithaa and Sasikala would later be acquitted by the Karnataka High Court, but the case is now in the Supreme Court, meaning Tamil Nadu’s new chief minister will come into power facing corruption charges.

What she does have on her side is time, since Tamil Nadu’s elections only took place last year, when the AIADMK returned to power with reasonably stable numbers. With much of the party behind her, and Pannerselvam seemingly giving up the post without a fight, Sasikala should have four years to prove that she is the right person to pick up the mantle after Amma.

Sasikala will have to begin this process by contesting state assembly elections within six months from being sworn in, one that will be closely watched to see which seat she chooses. And her other test will come in the form of the Supreme Court judgment, which was reserved by the bench in June last year. Tamil Nadu has had a tumultuous two months, and it doesn’t look like it will be out of the woods anytime soon.