Political Churn in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is going through a massive churn. In every street corner and household, there is just one question, What Next?

I feel that it is a very premature question to answer. The ruling party has a mandate for the next 4 years plus. Unless OP and his team mess up things, nothing much is there to be debated. I think that the AIADMK will maintain course till the completion of the course. Meanwhile what we do need to understand is that Ms. Sasikala will definitely have a role to play in the scheme of things. Even in the heydays of Amma, Ms. Sasikala had a powerful voice and this has even been vetoed by the partymen. What remains to be seen is the amount of clout Ms. Sasikala's own family members wield in the affairs of the party. AIADMK will spell doom for itself the moment Ms. Sasikala's relatives start interfering in the party affairs. No one understands this better than Ms. Sasikala herself.

The problem with the AIADMK is that Amma never groomed a successor and that in a way may prove to be very costly for the party. Amma had an aura about her and that made her own partymen accord a God like status to her. There is no one who can replace Amma in the foreseeable future and this is something that AIADMK has to learn to make peace with. There was just one person who was very close to Amma, none other than Ms. Sasikala herself. She will do well to maintain status quo as far as her role in the party is concerned. In my opinion Ms. Sasikala will do well in anointing someone else as the party General Secretary. The message will be then very clear in the open that she is not after power and in the process the party will have enough time to hunt for a suitable successor for Amma. There is also as much that Ms. Sasikala can handle. There are conspiracy theories doing the rounds as regards the death of Amma, plus the inheritance to the Poes Garden House. Ms. Deepa Jayakumar(Amma's Niece) has dropped her hat into the ring with inheritance claims. She might also try to get into Politics but she will do herself a world of good by not dabbling into Politics.This is a great opportunity for Ms. Sasikala to rise above all that is going around her. Good opportunity for the AIADMK to rebuild the party with a focus on looking for someone to step into Amma's shoes(Looks tough for anyone to fit the bill and fill in the vacuum left by her)

On the other side of the fence DMK seems to be playing a wait and watch game. They are well aware that the ruling party has a majority in the house for the next four years. Unless AIADMK decides to split up there is no real role that the DMK can play other than being a strong opposition in the legislative assembly. In the meantime the grand old man Kalaignar is not getting younger. He will do well to anoint his son Stalin as his successor. It will give Stalin as much time to establish himself as the leader of DMK. From the statements that are being issued by the party spokespersons its become very clear that they will play the waiting game.

The boat in Tamil Nadu shakes. The waves will come and go, there will be churn. Amma will be missed for sure. Her aura remains while thousands pay homage to her at her memorial on a daily basis.
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