BENGALURU: Her arrest might have prevented
AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala
from becoming the
chief minister of Tamil Nadu
, but she continues to remain at the centre of the neighbouring state's political landscape. Edappadi Palaniswami, sworn in as TN's CM on Thursday, is expected to visit Sasikala and seek her blessings at the
Parappana Agrahara prison
in Bengaluru on Friday.
Sasikala arrived in the city on Wednesday to surrender before a special court set up at the Bengaluru Central Prison after the Supreme Court convicted her in the
disproportionate assets case
. “Palaniswami wanted to meet Sasikala on Thursday, but there wasn't enough time as the oath-taking ceremony was scheduled in the evening.He'll meet her on Friday,“ said an AIADMK leader.
Police said they've been informed informally of Palaniswami's possible visit to the prison. “There's been no official communication about the visit. We'll be intimated by the Tamil Nadu government about the visit as per protocol,“ said M B Boralingaiah, DCP Bengaluru (Southeast).
On Thursday , a team of lawyers accompanied by Sasikala's nephew Vivek Jayaraman met her. “We discussed our course of action. We asked her about a few documents pertaining to the case,“ said lawyer Murthy Rao, who went there along with S Sendil and Ashokan, both lawyers too.
Sasikala's husband M Natarajan is staying at a hotel in the city.
Dismissing rumours of a threat to Sasikala's life, jail superintendent Krishna Kumar said, “There is no threat. She is completely safe.“
Sources said Sasikala did not feel like eating dinner on Wednesday. However, her niece and fellow inmate J Ilavarasi coaxed her and made sure she had some curd rice. The duo was reportedly heard talking till 11.30pm on Wednesday and Sasikala stayed awake till 1.45 am.
Sasikala rose at 5.30 am on Thursday, did light exercise in the cell before sipping coffee an hour later. Jail authorities gave her puliyogare for breakfast and chapatti and a bowl of rice with curry for lunch.