Can deceased Indian leader Jayalalithaa’s companion take her place?
V.K. Sasikala, the long-time friend of former Tamil Nadu chief minister, who died in December, faces pushback in her attempts to fill her role
Even for a democracy where cronyism and politics go hand-in-hand, V.K. Sasikala’s claim to power has to count as one of the most audacious ever.
Having never held public office or even a political post, the 60-year-old is making a bid to run the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu after taking over its ruling party. Her sole qualification – a special friendship with the state’s former chief minister, J. Jayalalithaa, one of India’s most powerful politicians ever, who died in December at the age of 68.
Jayalalithaa, or “Amma” (mother), as she was popularly known, ruled the state as the supreme leader of the regional All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party. In the manner of many political parties in the country, Jayalalithaa’s word was the law, with no anointed successor or clearly defined second line of command. A former film star who never married, Jayalalithaa had no children to be natural political heirs in a pervasive culture of dynastic rule.
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Jayalalithaa’s long absence from public life in recent months as a result of a prolonged illness further deepened the power vacuum, which her friend used to her advantage, quietly working in the shadows to align all the chess pieces in the party and government in her favour.
Sasikala came to know Jayalalithaa in the early 1980s when the latter was a rising star in the party. By 1984, their friendship deepened enough for Sasikala to take charge of Jayalalithaa’s household. From the kitchen to the laundry to her appointment book, she managed everything, and was the only person who had the key to the reclusive leader’s impenetrable fortress.
