CM in place, now hunt on for party general secretary

CHENNAI: As she stood next to Jayalalithaa’s body at Rajaji Hall, Sasikalaa Natarajan’s face gave little away. She shed tears, consoled partymen and stood by her friend’s side, as she has done for over three decades. On Tuesday, the question uppermost was who will be AIADMK’s general secretary.
Would Sasikalaa take charge or pick a loyalist for the job and herself become party matriarch? While Panneerselvam was the unanimous choice for the CM’s post, finding a new party general secretary has proved tougher for the party.Though it was rumoured Jayalalithaa’s aide may well take over the party reins, insiders now say she is unlikely to- her prime task to ensure government machinery runs smoothly and AIADMK government gets the Centre’s support.
Sources close to the family say for now she’s likely to choose Chennai-based MLA as party general secretary, probably party senior and Lok Sabha deputy speaker M Thambidurai, a decision that may be ratified by the AIADMK general council at its meeting later in December.
Sasikalaa is expected to lean heavily on brother V K Diwakaran and husband M Natarajan to run the party and the administration. A senior minister said “She has her brother Diwakar to advise her and husband Natarajan, known to network well at the Centre, to lobby for the AIADMK government.”
Sasikalaa’s potential as administrator and party leader has never been put to test. “The party is desperate to find an acceptable face who could perhaps learn to steer the party. We find her the ideal candidate,” said a senior leader.
On Monday, there were murmurs of two factions backed by their caste groups, the thevars and gounders, pushing their nominees.