Chennai: Till two years ago there was only one Sasikala in Amma's empire - Sasikala Natarajan, AIADMK supremo J Jayalithaa's shadow for almost three decades.
In 2014, one more Sasikala suddenly rose in Chennai's political circles. Jayalalithaa sent a relatively unknown party worker named Sasikala Pushpa to the Rajya Sabha.
Little did anyone know that soon Sasikala would believe she has grown big enough to take on Jayalalithaa herself - possibly a first in the AIADMK over the past 25 years.
Who is Sasikala
Sasikala's rise in the party has been meteoric. In 2009, she became a joint secretary of the women’s wing of the AIADMK at the age of 32.
In less than a year she became the deputy secretary of the party's youth wing. Between 2011-2014, she was the Mayor of Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation, becoming a powerful area leader within three years of grabbing a party post.
Ignoring all such complaints, Jayalalithaa nominated her to the Upper House. It led others in the party to believe she was close to Amma and nobody dared to rub her on the wrong side.
Initially, like all other party MPs, she too kept a low profile and rarely interacted with other MPs in New Delhi.
Till she allegedly slapped rival DMK MP Tiruchi Shiva at Delhi airport recently, some of her own fellow MPs did not even know her. But among some of her colleagues in Parliament she was known as a very ambitious woman.
An MP from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, who did not want to be named, told News18 she had given him hints that she wanted to rise in the party. An MP from AIADMK said he had always suspected her loyalty towards Amma.
"She is a woman in a hurry. She has set her eyes on bigger things. I never liked her. But, in our party Amma is supreme. We all kept quiet," he said.
A few months ago pictures of her with a rival DMK MP appeared in the social media and on some websites. But there was no reaction from Sasikala and her party.
Then came the infamous slapping incident at the Delhi aiport and Jayalalithaa acted swiftly and decisively by sacking her from the party the very next day.
But the drama went from bad to worse. Sasikala alleged she had been forced to sign her resignation letter.
On Sunday she lodged another complaint with the Delhi Police seeking security cover for her entire family.
Fallout
In true AIADMK style, party workers soon filed dozens of cases across the state against her and her family members. A complaint has been lodged with the Tuticorin police alleging Sasikala and her family members sexually harassed and threatened their maids.
The complaint was filed by a woman who claimed she was working as a maid at Sasikala's residence in Tuticorin.
The Madras High Court however closed the anticipatory bail petition filed by Sasikala Pushpa's husband and her son as the Chennai Police informed the court that that there were no cases pending against them in their jurisdiction.
After she came to Delhi from Chennai on August 1, Sasikala has not gone back home. She has told some MPs that if she returns, AIADMK workers might attack her for taking on their supreme leader.
As an MP, she has four more years to go. Amma will be in power for five more years. Is there scope for a patch up? AIADMK insiders say that even though nothing is impossible in politics, Jaya is unlikely to forgive someone who dared speak against her in public.
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