CHENNAI: V K Sasikala started for Chennai from Bengaluru well before 8am on Monday. More than 12 hours later, she was nowhere near her destination. Much like her first roadshow of the second coming in four years, her political journey could be one of suspense and uncertainty over the time of arrival.
“I will be in active politics,” were her first words the world had heard in so many years, as she spoke to a gathering of supporters at Tirupathur. A bigger message was in the optics. She wore a green sari; she sat on the front seat of the car that sported an AIADMK flag; and she flashed the ‘V’ sign, much like Jayalalithaa would do on her political outings. Sasikala is clearly trying to brand herself as Amma 2.0.
Before starting the journey, she reverentially dropped flower petals at Jayalalithaa’s portrait at the Devanahalli farmhouse. As Sasikala got into her vehicle at Devanahalli that was to take her up to Attibele near the Tamil Nadu-Bengaluru border, women took the aarti on coconuts and pumpkins, reflective of the way Jayalalithaa began any venture – be it election campaigns or important administrative programmes.
In her earlier avatar as the Jayalalithaa aide, Saskala had always taken the backseat, literally, while Jayalalithaa would wave at the people who gathered by the roadside to catch a glimpse of the prima donna. That journey had started before the 1991 assembly election that the AIADMK swept. Today, despite having recovered from Covid-19 only recently, Sasikala sat straight on the front seat.
Again, just like Jayalalithaa, a devout, Hindu who did not hesitate to make a public display of her religious beliefs, Sasikala got down and offered prayers at two temples in Krishnagiri. As frenzied cadres threw red and yellow flower petals on her car and held up massive garlands, Sasikala smiled, soaking up the adulation, spontaneous or otherwise. The sound of firecrackers announced her arrival at every halt. It was a well-organised road show, meant to propel Sasikala as Jayalalithaa’s heir and future leader. While Jayalalithaa got herself the moniker of ‘Puratchi Thalaivi’ (revolutionary leader), for Sasikala, the AMMK presented the title ‘Thyagathalaivi Chinnamma’ (embodiment of sacrifice).
Jaya TV channel, which has the patronage of the Sasikala family, telecast live her journey to Chennai. All through, the narrative stressed on the sacrifices Sasikala had made for Jayalalithaa – the channel attributed to her virtues like ‘thyagam’ (sacrifice), ‘vivegam’ (prudence), ‘veeram’ (valour). As her convoy of tens of vehicles reached the Tamil Nadu border, Sasikala hopping on to a vehicle belonging to an AIADMK functionary, ensuring that his party flag fluttered on the bonnet. At every halt, a smattering of AIADMK flags could be seen among the crowd of cadres.
The carnival included artisans beating drums, gymnasts putting up roadside shows and women with the traditional ‘poorna kumbh’ to greet her at several halts – all typical of the roadshows organized whenever Jayalalithaa toured the state. At every halt – 56 scheduled stops were planned – crowds surged towards her vehicle, covering the windshield with flower petals.
Jayalalithaa controlled her party by striking fear in partymen. And Sasikala reminded her detractors that she should be feared. “They closed the Amma memorial and asked me not to use the party flag because they are scared,” she told a roadside gathering.
Some Poes Garden insiders of the past say for Jayalalithaa, Sasikala was often more than a confidante— she was sometimes a shrewd advisor of political strategies. Tamil writer Valampuri John once said that if the Moghuls had someone like Sasikala, the ‘whites’ wouldn’t have dared to enter India. As Sasikala tries to be a true successor of her idol, her biggest challenge would also be the biggest achievement of Jayalithaa in 1989— reuniting a divided party and taking control of it.