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Deepa’s promise to cadre: Will make political entry shortly
Barely a few kilometres from the Poes Garden, the residence of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, in T Nagar Sivagnanam Street, a motley group of about 100 party cadre gathered outside a modest building. They eagerly awaited a glimpse of their ‘future’ leader Deepa Jayaraman, niece of Jayalalithaa.
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Chennai
Even as more and more AIADMK leaders and legislators have pledge their support for AIADMK General Secretary and late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s aide VK Sasikala to take over as the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayaraman, who has been seen as a natural successor to her aunt’s political legacy by a section of AIADMK cadre, has clearly hinted on January 3 that she was willing to enter politics and would announce her decision soon.
Addressing her supporters from the balcony of her home in T Nagar after waving to them the ‘V’ sign symbol that her aunt frequently used, Deepa said, “Thanks for all your wishes. I will announce the decision that you all expect very soon,” to cheers from those gathered there. While Deepa until recently had evaded the question of her joining politics, her announcement that she would announce her decision soon raised hopes among her supporters who are disgrunted with Sasikala taking over the reins of the party. Over the past few days, the crowds gathering outside the Sivagnanam Street residence of Deepa has been on the rise. Deepa shot into media focus after she was denied entry into Apollo Hospitals in the city when she intended to call on her ailing aunt convalescing there.
Her resemblance to Jayalalithaa caught the attention of many, especially after she was refused admission to see her aunt when the latter was undergoing treatment at the Apollo Hospitals. On Tuesday, when Deepa accompanied by her husband Madhavan came to the balcony of her house to meet the waiting cadres, the air was full of whistles and slogans.
Deepa greeted the visitors in the manner of late AIADMK leader’s ‘two leaves’ symbol which sent them into a tizzy and the visitors increased the pitch of sloganeering significantly. Traffic came to a standstill making the presence of police necessary to ease the block.
Deepa thanked her visitors amidst increasing sloganeering. Hinting that she was keen on entering the political fray, Deepa, said “Thanks for all your wishes. I will announce the decision that you all expect very soon.”
Over the past few days, a section of AIADMK cadre unhappy over the way Jayalalithaa’s former aide V K Sasikala became the party general secretary have started congregating in front of her T Nagar residence on a daily basis hoping for some word from her about her and their future.
Speaking to DTNext, Deepa who continues to use her father Jayaraman’s name said, “My future strategy will take a few more weeks to evolve. We are yet to arrive at a decision.”
Pressed for a specific time frame before she would announce whether she would take the political plunge or not, Deepa said, “it might be two or three weeks.” When asked whether she was happy over reports about the medical treatment provided out to Jayalalithaa, Deepa said “We want the government to release the concerned medical report and are waiting for it.”
When questioned whether she would take recourse to court to obtain the reply, Deepa’s immediate reply was a firm “No.” On Monday, the letter written by Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to the Union Home Minister on what Apollo Hospitals chairman Dr Prathap Reddy told him about the treatment given to former CM and the sequence of developments that led to Jayalalithaa’s death and the subsequent swearing in of O Panneerselvam as Chief Minister was out in public.
In the backdrop of hundreds of AIADMK cadre urging her to join politics, Deepa when asked if she would enter active politics, replied “Everything today is based on speculation. Our strategy will evolve over a few weeks.”
When she was told that there were rumours that Sasikala might take over as chief minister on January 19, she replied, “We cannot act on speculation. Even if she becomes the chief minister, she still has to win an election to hold on to the post.”
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