Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala on Monday returned to Tamil Nadu to a grand reception, days after completing her four-year jail term in Bengaluru in a Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case.
Sasikala, a close aide of late chief minister J Jayalalitha, crossed into Tamil Nadu as her supporters broke into celebrations, dancing to drum beats and showering flower petals on her convoy. Her return to Tamil Nadu is being keenly watched as it comes at a time when the assembly elections in the state are likely to be held in the next few months. Earlier, she left a resort on Bengaluru outskirts, accompanied by her nephew and general secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam T T V Dhinakaran, in a convoy of around 200 vehicles as her supporters raised slogans hailing her. Before leaving, Sasikala, wearing a face mask, offered floral tributes to a portrait of Jayalalithaa. ‘Chinnamma’, as she is fondly addressed by her followers, was greeted by a large gathering of people who waved both the AIADMK and AMMK flags as she crossed into Tamil Nadu at Athipallai border. At several locations along the road to Hosur, welcome arches were erected to greet Sasikala.
Sasikala, who underwent her sentence at the Parapana Agrahara central prison here since February, 2017, was set free on January 27 but remained at the Government Victoria Hospital, where she had been admitted after testing positive for COVID-19 while under judicial custody. She was discharged from the hospital on January 31 after which she stayed at a resort, about 35 km from Bengaluru.
