Sasikala Natarajan's Alleged Midnight Coup Stunned Jayalalithaa's Party

Among the lasting images of J Jayalalithaa's funeral - the sea of supporters bound together by grief, the glass casket moving slowly in an open-air truck to Chennai's Marina Beach - the one that carries the maximum political weight is that of Sasikala Natarajan, dressed in a black sari, performing the last rites. Ms Natarajan, 59, who lived with Ms Jayalalithaa in a palatial home valued at nearly 50 crores, has no official position in the AIADMK. And yet, her 24X7 access to the party chief, including in her last hours alive, allowed Ms Natarajan, who once sold video cassettes for a living, to ensure that Tamil Nadu's ruling party bent to her will.