Ahead of the State Assembly elections, VK Sasikala declares her entry into Tamil Nadu politics and projects a landslide victory for the AIADMK in 2026. She bemoans the ‘caste based politics’ practised by the AIADMK and declares her optimism for the party’s comeback under her direction.
Prior to the State Assembly elections, VK Sasikala, a former assistant to Jayalalitha, declared her “entry” into Tamil Nadu politics. In addition, she projected that the AIADMK would win handily in the elections of 2026. Over the years, the veteran politician has tried in vain to take back leadership of the party that Edappadi K Palaniswami is currently leading.
“I have been telling you this for a while now, so don’t worry about anything. “I am very strong… it cannot be thought that the AIADMK is finished and that is because, my entry (re-entry) has commenced,” she said to rapturous cheers.
Additionally, Sasikala noted the AIADMK’s electoral defeat and emphasized that “caste based politics” had crept into the party in recent years.
In the recently held elections in Tamil Nadu, the party was unable to secure even one Parliamentary seat. Nonetheless, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the head of the party, maintained that the AIADMK had performed better than in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Several years ago, Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran were expelled from the AIADMK; former chief minister O Panneerselvam was pivotal in hoisting the revolt flag. In July 2022, OPS, as he is usually called, and his supporters were kicked out of the party in a power struggle with Palaniswami. Two OPS supporters left his side earlier this month and declared their intention to bring the two organizations together. They also pleaded with Palaniswami and Panneerselvam to reconcile their factions in order to win the 2026 Assembly elections as a single AIADMK.
