Chinnamma

After Jayalalithaa's death, Sasikala took a series of steps to take total control of the party and the government. She kept all family members of Jayalalithaa out of the last rites. She was the one who decided every aspect of the funeral, last rites and the post-funeral sympathy gathering.

If the AIADMK legislature party survives its present crisis - a big If - the new leadership might stabilize. But the more probable scenario is that the split will persist.

The Supreme Court will at 10:30 this morning rule on whether VK Sasikala, AIADMK chief, is guilty of helping former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa amass illicit wealth worth over 60 crores in the 1990s. The verdict will decide the political career of Ms Sasikala, who has staked claim to be Tamil Nadu's next Chief Minister. If the court up...

Ahead of a Supreme Court verdict that will decide her political future, AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala has said she will spend the night at a five-star resort near Chennai where she has kept about 120 legislators sequestered for almost a week. Today the Supreme Court will rule whether Ms Sasikala is guilty of colluding with former Chief Minis...

The first segment of the Budget Session of Parliament had its interesting moments for me, especially as MPs began to gather in Central Hall and discuss the new political challenges of the New Year. Central Hall is formally used only once each year: for the address by the President to the joint sitting of both Houses. For the rest of the period, it ...

Sasikala is no Goddess and OPS no God. Neither has any background in Dravidian film-making. The failure in politics of very popular Tamil film stars like Sivaji Ganesan and "Captain" Vijayakanth shows that it is not film fan clubs that translate into political machines. but political machines that used the cinema like the social media is used today...

Bereft of their leader and inspiration, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu have turned to the next best thing: Amma's friend and confidante, VK Sasikala, who is the closest like-for-like replacement available. Even Sasikala's nickname of "Chinnamma" implies continuity, and suggests that Amma's politics live on in her successor. True to this perception,...

The news of Sasikala Natarajan's election to the AIADMK legislature party, which will enable her to take over as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, has received mixed reactions. While her opposition DMK has vociferously protested against the idea, social media witnessed both support and opposition. Chinnamma (mother's little sister) as Ms Natarajan is ...

The ruling AIADMK has summoned its legislators to the party office in Chennai today and no agenda for the meeting has been announced, sparking speculation that the party may replace Chief Minister O Panneerselvam with General Secretary Sasikala Natarajan.

It is indeed intriguing that the MLAs have not switched camps despite the fact that Sasikala will stay in jail for the next three years and cannot become an MLA for 10 years. It would seem that AIADMK MLAs, "orphaned" by the death of Amma want to cling on to a Mother figure - a role they believe only Chinnamma can fulfill.

She was Jayalalithaa's closest aide, but many in the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's RK Nagar constituency in Chennai do not want AIADMK's new party chief Sasikala Natarajan to contest from there.

Sasikala Natarajan, appointed chief of Tamil Nadu's ruling party over the weekend, must now become the head of government, a top leader from the AIADMK said today.

VK Sasikala, who was appointed to the top post in the AIADMK on Thursday, will formally take charge as its general secretary in Chennai today, the party said on Friday.

A host of senior AIADMK functionaries on Sunday urged former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's aide Sasikala Natarajan to take over as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. They also asked Ms Natarajan to take on the mantle of both the party.

In photographs tweeted by the ruling AIAMDK on Wednesday, Sasikala Natarajan bears shades of "Amma" as she greets party workers with hands folded at the Poes Garden residence in Chennai that she shared for many years with former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

After Jayalalithaa's death, Sasikala took a series of steps to take total control of the party and the government. She kept all family members of Jayalalithaa out of the last rites. She was the one who decided every aspect of the funeral, last rites and the post-funeral sympathy gathering.

If the AIADMK legislature party survives its present crisis - a big If - the new leadership might stabilize. But the more probable scenario is that the split will persist.

The Supreme Court will at 10:30 this morning rule on whether VK Sasikala, AIADMK chief, is guilty of helping former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa amass illicit wealth worth over 60 crores in the 1990s. The verdict will decide the political career of Ms Sasikala, who has staked claim to be Tamil Nadu's next Chief Minister. If the court up...

Ahead of a Supreme Court verdict that will decide her political future, AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala has said she will spend the night at a five-star resort near Chennai where she has kept about 120 legislators sequestered for almost a week. Today the Supreme Court will rule whether Ms Sasikala is guilty of colluding with former Chief Minis...

The first segment of the Budget Session of Parliament had its interesting moments for me, especially as MPs began to gather in Central Hall and discuss the new political challenges of the New Year. Central Hall is formally used only once each year: for the address by the President to the joint sitting of both Houses. For the rest of the period, it ...

Sasikala is no Goddess and OPS no God. Neither has any background in Dravidian film-making. The failure in politics of very popular Tamil film stars like Sivaji Ganesan and "Captain" Vijayakanth shows that it is not film fan clubs that translate into political machines. but political machines that used the cinema like the social media is used today...

Bereft of their leader and inspiration, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu have turned to the next best thing: Amma's friend and confidante, VK Sasikala, who is the closest like-for-like replacement available. Even Sasikala's nickname of "Chinnamma" implies continuity, and suggests that Amma's politics live on in her successor. True to this perception,...

The news of Sasikala Natarajan's election to the AIADMK legislature party, which will enable her to take over as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, has received mixed reactions. While her opposition DMK has vociferously protested against the idea, social media witnessed both support and opposition. Chinnamma (mother's little sister) as Ms Natarajan is ...

The ruling AIADMK has summoned its legislators to the party office in Chennai today and no agenda for the meeting has been announced, sparking speculation that the party may replace Chief Minister O Panneerselvam with General Secretary Sasikala Natarajan.

It is indeed intriguing that the MLAs have not switched camps despite the fact that Sasikala will stay in jail for the next three years and cannot become an MLA for 10 years. It would seem that AIADMK MLAs, "orphaned" by the death of Amma want to cling on to a Mother figure - a role they believe only Chinnamma can fulfill.

She was Jayalalithaa's closest aide, but many in the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's RK Nagar constituency in Chennai do not want AIADMK's new party chief Sasikala Natarajan to contest from there.

Sasikala Natarajan, appointed chief of Tamil Nadu's ruling party over the weekend, must now become the head of government, a top leader from the AIADMK said today.

VK Sasikala, who was appointed to the top post in the AIADMK on Thursday, will formally take charge as its general secretary in Chennai today, the party said on Friday.

A host of senior AIADMK functionaries on Sunday urged former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's aide Sasikala Natarajan to take over as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. They also asked Ms Natarajan to take on the mantle of both the party.

In photographs tweeted by the ruling AIAMDK on Wednesday, Sasikala Natarajan bears shades of "Amma" as she greets party workers with hands folded at the Poes Garden residence in Chennai that she shared for many years with former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.