'Chinnamma' Sasikala to Lead AIADMK

In the general council meeting of AIADMK today, Sasikala Natarajan has been chosen as the General Secretary of the party, a position held by the late Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa for all her political career. The senior leaders and the district secretaries of the party came for the decisive meeting at Vanagaram. A majority of the party workers have already gone to Sasikala and requested to join the party at the senior-most level.

With Chief Minister O Pannerselvam in attendance, the party passed a 12-resolution announcement accepting Sasikala or Chinnamma as their leader after Amma’s death. The fifth resolution says that she will only by the General Secy for the time being. However, Sasikala will be inducted officially in her position only after she completes five years with the party, with an Indian Express report suggesting that she might create a new position for herself.

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A day before Sasikala’s appointment, the party had held another meeting which took an ugly turn, as a few party workers beat up expelled AIADMK MP, Sasikala Pushpa's husband and his lawyers, when they visited the office.

Also Watch: Who is Sasikala?

“She is not a member of our party. If she wants to criticise the party, let her resign from the MP’s post first. All that she gained today was cheap publicity. She was trying to create a law and order situation by sending her men to AIADMK office when it was obvious that they had no business to enter our party office,” said AIADMK spokesperson C R Saraswathi, as reported by The Indian Express.

Sasikala, popularly known as Chinnamma, was a close confidante of the late Jayalalithaa's for close to three decades, but never had a formal position. The late CM did distance herself from Sasikala's family, reportedly during the legal troubles they faced (corruption charges, which were cleared by a Karnataka high court last year).

Also Read: Jayalalithaa's Legacy: Her Departure Leaves the Battlefield Less Spirited

Picture credit- NDTV