"This is the time I have been telling you, there is no need for any concern."
VK Sasikala, confidante of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Sunday dramatically said that it cannot be thought that the AIADMK is decimated in view of its recent electoral drubbing as her 'entry has begun,' and vowed to usher in Amma's rule by winning the 2026 Assembly polls.
She also asserted that she would question the government as the 'opposition party' when Edappadi K Palaniswami did not ask the right questions, in his capacity as leader of opposition.
After her unsuccessful attempts over a considerable period of time to regain control of the AIADMK led by Edappadi K Palaniswami, Sasikala, addressing her supporters here, said the time is ripe for entry again.
"This is the time I have been telling you, there is no need for any concern," she said, apparently referring to her stand of 'unifying' the party for which she also had toured several regions of the state.
"For sure, people of Tamil Nadu are on our side.... I am very strong... it cannot be thought that the AIADMK is finished and it is because, my entry (re-entry) has commenced," she said amid rounds of applause.
With the support of cadres and people, 'Amma's' regime will be ushered in by winning the 2026 Assembly polls. She said she will soon begin her state-wide tour and pose questions and the DMK government has to provide answers.
Sasikala, without naming anyone, said 'caste based politics' has made an entry into the party (AIADMK).
Bringing such caste based politics into the party nurtured by party founder MGR and late matriarch 'Amma Jayalalithaa' will not be tolerated by her and party workers. Had she had any caste based considerations, she would not have made Edappadi K Palaniswami as Chief Minister in 2017. He was made the Chief Minister considering representation to the western region of the state, which had all along stood by the party from the days of MGR.
Today, she said the party has been relegated to third and fourth positions in the recent LS polls and also had lost deposit in a number of seats.
It is obvious that her 'caste based politics' and the 'poll debacle' comments were aimed at Edappadi Palaniswami. In 2017, when she proposed Palaniswami for the post of Chief Minister she was the party's interim general secretary, the number one position then following the death of Jayalalithaa in December 2016.
Speaking to reporters, answering a question, she said 'boycott of Vikravandi bypoll is not correct under the present circumstances.' The AIADMK and DMDK have boycotted the July 10 bypoll.
Targeting the ruling DMK regime over issues including procurement of buses, she said, "if the leader of the opposition (Edappadi Palaniswami) does not pose questions that he must ask, I am the opposition party, I am asking (those) questions." She expressed confidence of bringing everyone together, unify the AIADMK and capture power in the state.
Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his supporters were expelled by Edappadi Palaniswami, who later emerged as the single leader at the helm of the AIADMK.
Sasikala, her relatives including TTV Dhinakaran, who later founded the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, were among those who were eased out of the party years ago when Panneerselvam and Palaniswami remained together.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)