Why is Sasikala Crying?

It has been five years since J Jayalalithaa passed into the ages.

Her All India Anna Dravida Kazagham party splintered soon after her death. Senior leaders expelled her long time companion Sasikala Natarajan from the party after which Edapaddi K Ramaswamy and O Paneerselvam consented to an uneasy truce to share power.

Vanquished in the Tamil Nadu assembly election by the DMK this year, the AIADMK re-elected EPS and OPS as the party's coordinator and joint coordinator on Saturday, December 4, a day before they paid homage to Amma at her memorial near Chennai's Marina beach.

There have been whispers that Sasikala -- who returned to the state in February after a four year prison term in Bengaluru -- would be reinducted in the party, but that has not occurred yet.

Meanwhile, please click on the images to view the people and politician's tribute to Amma on Sunday.

IMAGE: Sasikala sobs at the Jayalalithaa memorial near Marina Beach. All photographs: PTI Photo

IMAGE: Sasikala first met Jayalalithaa in the 1980s when the movie star-turned-politician was the AIADMK propaganda secretary.
A professional association grew into personal friendship and Sasikala moved into Jaya's Poes Garden bungalow sometime in the 1990s.
Like any friendship, the Jaya-Sasikala relationship had its up and downs.
In December 2011, Jaya expelled Sasikala, her husband M Natarajan and other family members from the AIADMK.
After rendering an apology in March 2012, Sasikala was back in the party and Jaya's life and stayed there till her death on December 5, 2016.

IMAGE: An AIADMK supporter gets emotional while paying homage to Jayalalithaa.

IMAGE: Amma was hugely popular with sections of Tamilians. Her death -- and the death of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi two year later -- marked the end of an era in Tamil politics, paving the way for a new generation of leaders.