NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, JUNE 17
Former Jayalalithaa aide and ‘Chinnamma’ VK Sasikala has announced her ‘entry’ into Tamil Nadu politics ahead of the State Assembly elections. She also predicted a landslide with for the AIADMK in the 2026 elections. The senior politician has made several unsuccessful attempts over the years to regain control of the party currently led by Edappadi K Palaniswami.
“This is the time I have been telling you, there is no need for any concern. For sure, people of Tamil Nadu are on our side…. I am very strong… it cannot be thought that the AIADMK is finished and it is because, my entry (re-entry) has commenced,” she said amid rounds of applause.
- Sasikala criticises the current AIADMK leadership under Edappadi K Palaniswami for not adequately challenging the ruling DMK government
- Earlier this month, two OPS supporters quit his faction and announced their bid to unite the two groups
- She pledges to initiate a state-wide tour soon, during which she would hold the DMK government accountable and demand answers from them
Sasikala also insisted that ‘caste based politics’ had entered the AIADMK in recent years and made note of its electoral drubbing.
Sasikala criticised the current AIADMK leadership under Edappadi K Palaniswami for not adequately challenging the ruling DMK government and asserted that she would step in to ask the necessary questions as the Opposition should. This statement underscores her intent to reclaim a significant role in the party’s future.
She pledged to initiate a state-wide tour soon, during which she would hold the DMK government accountable and demand answers from them.
She asserted that caste politics would not be tolerated in the AIADMK, a party nurtured by its founder MGR and later by Jayalalithaa.
The party had failed to win a single Parliamentary seat in Tamil Nadu during the recently concluded polls. Party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami however insisted that the AIADMK had improved its performance when compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran were expelled from the AIADMK several years ago — with former CM O Panneerselvam playing an instrumental role in raising the banner of revolt. OPS (as he is popularly known) and his supporters were later expelled from the party in July 2022 amid a power tussle against Palaniswami.
Earlier this month two OPS supporters quit his faction and announced their bid to unite the two groups. They also appealed to Palaniswami and Panneerselvam to merge their factions and strive for a united AIADMK victory in the 2026 Assembly elections.
“We will attempt to speak to Palaniswami, Panneerselvam and V K Sasikala to bring about a merger as our sole objective is to unite AIADMK and make it the ruling party in the 2026 Assembly elections,” said former Villivakkam legislator JCD Prabhakar — a key Panneerselvam aide until recently.
Since the passing of Jayalalithaa in December 2016, Sasikala’s political journey has been tumultuous. She was interim general secretary when she proposed EPS as Chief Minister in 2017. However, after her incarceration and subsequent release, she, along with her nephew TTV Dhinakaran and others, were expelled from the AIADMK as EPS consolidated power. Dhinakaran went on to establish the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).
