In a setback for VK Sasikala, the Madras High Court on Monday upheld a decision by Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam to remove her from the position of general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) after the death of J Jayalalithaa in 2016.
With O Panneerselvam as the stand-in chief minister, Sasikala had held the position after Jayalalithaa’s death, just before her imprisonment in the disproportionate assets case in February 2017.
AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said: “AIADMK had petitioned to dismiss the claim of VK Sasikala as general secretary, stating she has no locus standi, was listed today at the 4th additional district sessions court, Chennai. The honorable judge, acknowledging the petition filed by EPS and OPS, dismissed Sasikala’s plea and passed an order favouring EPS and OPS.”
After the HC dismissed her plea, Sasikala told the reporters that she would soon challenge the decision. According to sources, she is now mulling legal routes and is likely to move the Supreme Court.
THE 2017 MEET
Over five years after she lost control of the AIADMK, Sasikala has been trying to be a contender to Jayalalithaa’s legacy, while Panneerselvam and Palaniswami have sealed their positions within the party.
At the general council meet in 2017, new posts of coordinator and co-coordinator were created for OPS and EPS respectively, giving them all powers and their factions came together, while Sasikala and her followers were dislodged. Since then, the AIADMK had made it clear that there was no scope for rapprochement with Sasikala or her relatives.
After completing her four-year prison term in Bengaluru, Sasikala, who had a clout in the AIADMK during the days of Jayalalithaa, returned to Tamil Nadu on February 8, 2021.
On her return, she had indicated that she would be involved in active politics, but later announced her decision to stay away.
“It’s the wish of the party cadres that I become the third-generation leader of the AIADMK party”, she was, however, heard saying in an audiotape that surfaced on social media in August 2021.
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