AIADMK declares Sasikala won't be invited back in the party

Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition party, AIADMK, on Monday reiterated that expelled leader V K Sasikala will not be taken back, a day after the long-time aide of late J Jayalalithaa said it was time for her to make a “re-entry” to save the 52-year-old party.

 “How is an entry possible when we have already given her the exit?” AIADMK organising secretary D Jayakumar said on Monday, dismissing Sasikala’s contention and her meeting with 'supporters.' 

Sasikala, who was ousted as interim general secretary by O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami in 2017, has been trying to make a comeback in politics but in vain with no groundswell of support for her among AIADMK cadres and leaders. 

 On Sunday, she met her “supporters” and not just declared her intention to take a plunge into active politics but also implied that the AIADMK was now being viewed as a “caste party”, an oblique reference to the “domination” of Gounders, the caste to which Palaniswami belongs. 

 “She (Sasikala) should remember that Amma (Jayalalithaa) had expelled her (Sasikala) from the Poes Garden and from the AIADMK. Our party general secretary (Palaniswami) has made it clear more than once that there is no connection between her and the AIADMK,” Jayakumar added.

Sasikala’s comments came in the wake of renewed calls from expelled leaders of the AIADMK, including Panneerselvam, on the need for a united AIADMK by merging all factions. This was followed by the AIADMK’s drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls and the party losing the runner-up slot to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 12 constituencies across the state 

However, Sasikala’s nephew T T V Dhinakaran, who lost the Lok Sabha elections from Theni seat, said there was no question of merging with the AIADMK as long as Palaniswami remains at the helm.