'If the interim chief minister lodges a criminal complaint against Sasikala for grabbing power through coercion, she has to face one more case.'
Sasikala has applied for a 15-day parole to meet her ailing husband M Natarajan, who is awaiting a liver transplant.
'I see the queen bee kind of syndrome.' 'When they know that there is a queen bee, the bees will hang around her for some time and then fly away.' 'I won't be surprised if somebody else takes the place of the queen bee.'
'Sasikala definitely has an emotional advantage over the others, but there are very seasoned politicians with a strong support base.' 'For the time being, they may toe her line.'
M Natarajan, husband of Sasikala, close aide of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, was arrested on Monday after he was picked up from Courtallam in Tirunelveli district following a complaint from martial arts expert and sculptor Shihah Husseini that he was threatened by him, police said.
Sasikala's declaration of staying away from politics does not necessarily have to mean that she was retiring for good. She is only taking time to evaluate the post-poll chances of hers before digging in again, if possible, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
This is a case relating to non-filing of Income Tax returns during 1991-94.
Here is the glimpse of the political turn of events in the state
The revived factionalism in the AIADMK, if not curbed now, has the potential to split the party vertically, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
If Sasikala wants to stay in active politics, she will have to go to EPS crawling, reports Aditi Phadnis.
The husband of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's estranged aide Sasikala was arrested on Saturday in a land grabbing case, said the police. A team of police from Thanjavur arrested M Natarajan and took him to that town. He was arrested on a complaint filed by a person from a village near Thanjavur.
She visited her husband M Natarajan, who underwent liver and kidney transplantation at a hospital in Chennai, on all five days of her parole period.
At 70, going by hospital records made public, most age and health-related arguments put out against super-star Rajinikanth's entry into politics, before he withdrew citing a 2016 kidney-transplant, hold good for Sasikala, too, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There is no doubt that Sasikala wanted the transition to go this way.' 'The only thing the AIADMK MLAs want is to stay in power.'
The jailed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader had applied for 15-day parole on Monday, seeking temporary release to attend to her ailing husband, M Natarajan, 74, who is in the liver intensive care unit of a corporate hospital.
While in the AIADMK office you could feel the vibes of victory, at OPS' house you could feel the struggle.
A look at the financials of some of the key companies in the Sasikala clan's business empire.
In a surprise move, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa on Monday expelled her close aide V K Sasikala and her husband M Natarajan, besides 10 others from the party's primary membership.
'As the financier, she controls the party.'
AIADMK leaders want Chinamma to succeed Amma as party general secretary, but it is not a done deal yet.
A special court in Bangalore on Thursday which, directed Jayalalithaa and three other accused to appear before it on April 5 in the disproportionate assets case, later revised its order to exempt the Tamil Nadu chief minister from appearing due to security reasons.
Jayalalithaa and Sasikala have made peace after a three-month tiff and though her return may not have any political repercussions, it will impact the government.
The AIADMK leader had sought parole for 15 days, but she has been granted for five days.
Should Sasikala seek to follow Jayalalithaa's footsteps in the matter, and if at all she is not disinterested in keeping the twin posts together, the by-election to Jayalalithaa's constituency R K Nagar could be the starting point, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sasikala left Chennai on Thursday morning by a car which had to halt at several locations till it reached the Bengaluru highway as party cadres gathered to greet her.
Despite the BJP's displeasure over Sasikala's elevation as AIADMK general secretary, the Dravidian party has sent a message to the Modi government that it will not be cowed down, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The team of doctors treating the Tamil Nadu chief minister at Apollo expect her condition to improve further by Sunday and thereafter will discharge her.
Dinakaran has been re-inducted and elevated to the position of deputy general secretary.
The CM, along with Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, met the PM at his office in Parliament House.
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The OPS camp believes Sasikala's family still calls the shot in the EPS camp.
'A person who came to take care of Jayalalithaa's personal needs slowly took control of her political life.'
Even though V K Sasikala's relatives may be calling the shots within the AIADMK and the Tamil Nadu government now, the 'Mannargudi clan' doesn't have a future in state politics, reports R Rajagopalan.
'Sasikala, already determined to keep both the party and CM's post for herself, might not be able to do it, if she were to wait any longer,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
"I don't understand her rush to become the chief minister. Does she not understand the situation in Tamil Nadu?" The battle between O Panneerselvam and Sasikala continues
With the assembly polls only two years away, in 2026, any demoralising defeat in 2024, would challenge not only the party's continued relevance but also EPS's leadership, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Dinakaran, who was expelled from the AIADMK in 2011, was re-inducted into the party last month by Sasikala after he expressed regret for his alleged anti-party activities.
Today, as Jayalalithaa's friend, advisor and 'sister' Sasikala is also lodged in Bangalore Central jail, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister is where she was before: alone, all alone
Justice G Jayachandran said there is ample evidence placed before the court by the prosecution to show that these accused were involved in cheating the government by producing forged documents.
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