Consensus emerges, Sasikala set to be AIADMK general secretary

A plea urging her to step into the shoes of Jayalalithaa was made by a delegation of leaders including AIADMK presidium chairman E Madhusudanan and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Thambidurai when they called on Sasikala at the Poes Garden residence of the late chief minister. 

“We told her that we are with you,” said Thambidurai, whose name was doing the round for the post, adding that he told Sasikala that the party and welfare of the people was in her hands. “I urged her to come forward to take up responsibility of being party General Secretary and guide us,” he told Jaya Plus Tamil TV channel. He said the party is of the “unanimous” opinion that it was Sasikala who should lead the party. 

Sasikala, 60, has been a close aide of Jayalalithaa for three decades and has always been seen as a power centre in the party. 

In what appeared to be an orchestrated campaign, a host of state ministers, including Dindigul C Srinivasan and Electricity Minister P Thangamani expressed similar sentiments in interviews to the channel. 

The leaders who called on Sasikala included former Ministers K A Sengottaiyan, B Valarmathi, Gokula Indira, former Chennai Mayor Saidai Duraisamy, party spokesperson C R Saraswathy and senior leader A Tamil Magan Hussain. They urged Sasikala to lead AIADMK and scotch “rumours” at this critical juncture for the party in view of the demise of Jayalalithaa. 

There were enough hints earlier about Sasikala’s possible elevation with AIADMK Organisational Secretary C Ponnaiyan saying there was nothing wrong in the Chief Minister and key party leaders consulting her.