The big question for AIADMK: after Jaya, who?

Even in death, J Jayalalithaa seemed to mirror the way she lived. Her close friend and confidante, Sasikala, was by the side of her mortal remains till the very end. And, Sasikala’s extended family occupied all the vantage positions as the late Chief Minister’s body lay in state at Rajaji Hall. The ministers and her party loyalists were only present.

Just as Jayalalithaa herself occupied a vantage position behind her mentor, party founder and late chief minister MG Ramachandran’s body on a December day 29 years ago, much to the consternation of party seniors then, this time it was the turn of Sasikala and her family members to invite similar reactions from the party faithful. A few in the thousands that thronged to pay their last respects to their beloved Amma did voice their protest, but it was lost in the din.

The political implications of this were not lost, though. Then, Jayalalithaa overcame odds to head the AIADMK.

Now, though her trusted lieutenant O Panneerselvam — who had twice stood in for her when she had to step down as Chief Minister — has been elected to lead the government in her stead, he does not enjoy the status of the unquestioned supremo that Jayalalithaa did.

During his previous stints as Chief Minister, Panneerselvam knew he had Jayalalithaa’s support and referred to her for all major decisions. His ministers had no choice but to accept Panneerselvam’s leadership of the government. When that is not the case now, one wonders whether the ministers will automatically toe Panneerselvam’s line or whether he will still have to consult the party leadership before taking decisions. That the new Chief Minister chose to retain the same Cabinet made it clear that he did not want to start on a wrong note.

All attention will now be focussed on who takes over as the AIADMK’s General Secretary. If rumour mills are to be believed, Sasikala is the frontrunner and a natural choice, having been Jayalalithaa’s eyes and ears.

It was interesting to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who flew down to pay his tributes to Jayalalithaa, should spend a few extra minutes consoling Sasikala. Political observers read a lot into the gesture and believe that the BJP and the Modi government will try to build on the good relationship they enjoy with the AIADMK; Modi and Jayalalithaa had shared special rapport.

The AIADMK government is only six months into its tenure and, if not for anything else, none will risk upsetting the apple-cart and will rather stomach whatever decision the Chief Minister or the party leadership takes.

With Jayalalithaa’s death, there will not be the same level of animus between the two main Dravidian parties – the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition DMK. Panneerselvam will be keen to break the ice with MK Stalin, DMK Treasurer and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. This should augur well for the State.

The more important issue is that the AIADMK does not have a leader with the same charisma of Jayalalithaa and it remains to be seen how the party will fare without a strong leader who brooked no dissent. All these years, the fight has been between the two Dravidian parties and now with one of them without a strong leader, there may well be space for another party with a charismatic leader to try and occupy that space.

That a galaxy of political leaders from across the political spectrum paid their tributes to Jayalalithaa only demonstrated the fact that she was a national level leader in her own right and that the AIADMK, because of its majority in the State Assembly and its numbers in Parliament, will be continue to be relevant after her death.