Vk Sasikala meets actor Rajinikanth, his wife in Chennai

Expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader VK Sasikala met Tamil superstar Rajinikanth at his home. The meeting was billed as a ‘courtesy call’ by Sasikala’s office.

‘She met Rajinikanth to congratulate him on winning the Dadasaheb Palke award and to enquire about his health’, the statement said. The meeting occurred on Monday evening, and images of the superstar along with his wife Latha conversing with Sasikala have been circulating on the internet.

Both Sasikala and Rajinikanth are political non-starters in Tamil Nadu for a variety of reasons. They were also previous neighbours in Chennai’s opulent Poes Garden, where Rajinikanth lives and late former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa lived for at least three decades with Sasikala.

In December 2017, the 70-year-old actor, who has a global cult following, announced his foray into politics by launching the Rajini Makkal Mandram. He eventually reversed course in December 2020, citing health concerns and the Covid-19 outbreak.

Rajinikanth’s involvement was expected to shake up the state’s politics, and he was courted by the BJP, which is attempting to create a foothold in Tamil Nadu, where the electorate has only supported the DMK or the AIADMK since the Congress lost power in 1967.

Meanwhile, Sasikala is attempting a political return that has been consistently rebuffed by the AIADMK’s present dual leadership of Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, both of whom were formerly her supporters but have now turned enemies.

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Following Jayalalithaa’s demise in December 2016, the AIADMK unanimously named Sasikala as interim general secretary, and she was on her way to becoming Chief Minister when the Supreme Court in Bengaluru sentenced her to four years in prison in the disproportionate assets case in February 2017.

She was dismissed from the party later that year and has been denied re-entry with her family. While she was imprisoned, the party underwent significant changes, and since her release in February this year, Sasikala has attempted to make a comeback to mixed reviews.

To keep her out of the AIADMK, the party’s rules were altered last week to re-elect Panneerselvam and Palaniswami as coordinator and joint coordinator, respectively, the highest positions in the party.