Jayalalithaa's niece softens stance on Sasikala after taking possession of 'Veda Nilayam'

After taking possession of the late Jayalalithaa's 'Veda Nilayam' residence on Friday, her niece Deepa Jayakumar softened her stance on VK Sasikala who has launched a bid to reclaim AIADMK. Located in the Poes Garden locality, this house was the hub of political activities for more than two decades since Jayalalithaa took over as the AIADMK general secretary. It was occupied by Sasikala until she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case in February 2017.

While the erstwhile AIADMK government had taken over this house in 2020 to create a memorial for the late CM, this decision was quashed by the Madras High Court.

On November 24, it ordered the state government to hand over the property to her brother Jayakumar's children Deepa and Deepak, who are her legal heirs within a period of three weeks. Speaking to the media, Deepa stressed that "we are neither against her (Sasikala) nor for her".

After her aunt's death in December 2016, she had vehemently opposed Sasikala's election to the AIADMK general secretary's post and the subsequent elevation of E Palaniswami as the CM. While she had joined hands with the then rebel O Panneerselvam, Deepak was perceived to be close to the camp of the late Jayalalithaa's aide.

In June 2017, she had accused Sasikala and Deepak of conspiring to kill the former AIADMK supremo. Explaining her relations with Sasikala and her family members, Deepa stated, "There used to be a lot of clashes. I never got along with them from day one. That's a different issue. But for my aunt's sake, we used to put up with them because they were accompanying her all the while and they used to be staying with her. Probably she  needed their attention. So, I never interfered with that matter neither did my mother or father. So, we always stayed a bit away from the Sasikala family in the earlier days except on the occasions when my aunt would invite us to functions". 

Speaking on the condition of the house, Jayalalithaa's niece revealed, "Today we went to the Collectorate and collected the keys from the Collector and then, we came here. The government officials were here, they opened the house. They opened all the rooms and showed us. But there was no electricity when we came and so, we were not able to exactly take down all the valuables". She added, "Both of us (Deepak and I) have to sit down and take decisions about renovating the house, putting back into shape and what to do with the things left here. If we have to make the house usable, we have to make a lot of changes". 

Sasikala's ouster and dual leadership formula

J Jayalalithaa's untimely demise on December 5, 2016, led to a vacuum in her party which was initially filled by OPS. But, her close confidante Sasikala was elected as the General Secretary of the party and sought to take over as the CM of the state in February 2017. While Panneerselvam resigned from his post and backed her candidature, he subsequently rebelled against her. After the Supreme Court convicted Sasikala in the disproportionate assets case, her camp picked E Palaniswami as OPS' replacement.

However, the AIADMK factions led by the then CM and Panneerselvam merged on August 21, 2017, and paved the way for the removal of Sasikala from the party. After being released on serving a 4-year jail term in the Rs.66 crore disproportionate assets case on January 27 earlier this year, she announced her comeback in politics before briefly stepping aside before the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls. But after AIADMK's defeat, she toured several parts of the state, reached out to lower-level and mid-level functionaries of the party and asserted that she remains the General Secretary.