V. K. Sasikala
V. K. Sasikala | |
|---|---|
| General Secretary of All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| Assumed office 24 February 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| General Secretary of the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam Faction | |
| In office 15 March 2018 – 19 April 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Acting General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| In office 31 December 2016 – 17 February 2017 | |
| Deputy | T. T. V. Dhinakaran (from 14 Feb) |
| Preceded by | J. Jayalalithaa |
| Succeeded by | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| 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 18 August 1954 |
| Party | All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (Since 2026) |
| Other political affiliations | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (until 1996, 1997–2011, 2012–2017) Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (2018–2021) |
| Spouse |
M. Natarajan
(m. 1973; died 2018) |
| Relatives | T. T. V. Dhinakaran (nephew) |
| Occupation | Politician |
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 confidant 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. She is aunt of AMMK general secretary T. T. V. Dhinakaran. Her cadres revered her as their "Chinnamma" (Small Mother) and "Puratchi Thaai" (Revolutionary mother). 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. Her dismissal was upheld by the Madras High Court in December 2023.
After her expulsion she went to court over her dismissal as AIADMK general secretary. 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.
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.