V. K. Sasikala

V. K. Sasikala
General Secretary of the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam Faction[a]
In office
15 March 2018 – 19 April 2019
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Acting General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam[1][2]
In office
31 December 2016 – 17 February 2017
DeputyT. T. V. Dhinakaran
Preceded byJ. Jayalalithaa
Succeeded byEdappadi K. Palaniswami[3]
Member of the AIADMK Chief Executive Council
In office
17 December 2010 – 12 September 2017
Member of the AIADMK General Council
In office
9 October 2000 – 12 September 2017
Personal details
Born
Vivekanandan Krishnaveni Sasikala

(1954-08-18) 18 August 1954 (age 70)
Thiruthuraipoondi, Madras State
(present day Tamil Nadu), India
Political partyIndependent politician
Other political
affiliations		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (until 2017)
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (2018–2021)
Spouse
M. Natarajan
​
​
(m. 1973; died 2018)​
RelativesT. T. V. Dhinakaran (nephew)
Residence(s)Jayalalithaa Illam,
95, Poes Thottam, Teynampet, Chennai – 600086, Tamil Nadu, India
OccupationPolitician

Vivekanandan Krishnaveni Sasikala (born 18 August 1954), also known by her married name Sasikala Natarajan, and often referred to by her initials VKS, is an Indian politician. She was a close associate of J. Jayalalithaa, the late chief minister of Tamil Nadu, who headed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) from 1989 until her death in 2016. After Jayalalithaa's death, the party's general council elected her as a temporary secretary general of AIADMK. Before being imprisoned in the Central Prison in Bangalore, Sasikala appointed Edappadi K. Palanisamy as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Palanisamy and other ministers removed her from the post and expelled her from the party in September 2017.[4][5] Her dismissal was upheld by the Madras High Court in December 2023.[6]

After her expulsion she went to court over her dismissal as AIADMK general secretary.[7] Her nephew T. T. V. Dhinakaran launched Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam in March 2018 as unregistered party, with Sasikala as its general secretary. Dhinakaran replaced her in April 2019, as registered party.[8]

In February 2017, a two-bench Supreme Court jury pronounced Sasikala guilty and ordered her immediate arrest in a disproportionate-assets case, in which Jayalalithaa was also involved, effectively ending Sasikala's chief ministerial ambitions. She was released in January 2021.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sasioust was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference sasittvoust was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ MARIAPPAN, JULIE (28 March 2023). "EPS becomes AIADMK general secretary; OPS petition rejected in Madras HC". timesofindia.
  4. ^ "AIADMK unanimously elects Sasikala as the party general secretary". New Indian Express. 29 December 2016. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Sasikala has accepted AIADMK general secretary post, Paneerselvam says". Julie Mariappan. The Times of India. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference sasihcverdict was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Sasikala holds legal discussions related to AIADMK general secretary case". Editor. DT Next. 14 July 2021. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference AMMK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).