Sasikala Withdraws From Politics: High Moral Ground Or Tactical Retreat
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-03-04 06:04:51
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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In a stunning announcement that has stumped almost all observers, Sasikala has announced her retirement from active politics for now and has said that AIADMK cadre has to stay united to "defeat the DMK". This, on paper, puts to rest all calculations about which way Sasikala will go before the polls and gives the AIADMK leadership some breathing space. As it is, the party is fighting a resurgent DMK with backs to the walls and it needs all the support (even if passive), especially from Sasikala as she still wields considerable clout in the political circles in the state and has popular support too as she was the late Jayalalitha's closest confidante.
Although Sasikala has not made any negative comments after her release from jail but since her nephew TTV Dhinakaran was handling affairs of AMMK in her absence and had organized a huge road show when she was released, it was believed that the nephew-aunt pair would make things difficult for the AIADMK as they had thrown her out of the party. But with her announcement, Sasikala has taken a stand that can be viewed as either being on high moral ground (as she has said that "I have never hankered after title, posts or power. I will stay away from politics and pray to 'akka' (sister) and to God, for AIADMK rule to continue") or a tactical retreat.
Sasikala knows that chief minister E K Palaniswami is facing huge anti-incumbency and a resurgent DMK. She knows that despite support from the BJP, the wind is blowing against the AIADMK. Hence, she has withdrawn at this time to avoid sharing the blame for the defeat. She is waiting to strike at her detractors at the right time and maybe she thinks that it will be when they are licking their wounds after getting thrashed in the polls.
But she also knows that if the AIADMK alliance wins, she would have to wait longer to make a comeback. It seems she is prepared to take that chance. Although the same cannot be said about Dhinakaran, who is viewed as being highly ambitious and pushy, it is also true that his clout is almost negligible without Sasikala's support. Hence he is expected to toe her line. Sasikala's decision will also come as a relief to the BJP which was trying to push EPS into working with Sasikala but with little success. It remains to be seen whether Sasikala is true to her words or pulls strings in the background to embarrass the current AIADMK leadership.
