History often repeats in Indian politics. After the demise of J Jayalalithaa in December last year, Tamil Nadu has seen chaos over who would succeed the late leader.
On Tuesday (February 14), after the Supreme Court convicted Sasikala, one of the combatants of the tug-of-war in a two-decade-old disproportionate assets case, relief descended for many who abhorred the idea of Jayalalithaa's aide succeeding her as the CM. But it was only a momentary affair.
By the end of the day, when Sasikala's loyalist Edapaddi Palanisami went to meet the state's governor – C Vidyasagar Rao – to show the support he has, it became clear that Indian political culture is irreversible. It's all about proxy.
If Palanisami succeeds in becoming the next chief minister of Tamil Nadu and Sasikala remote controls him from behind bars, it will not be something unprecedented in the history of the state or even the country. Jayalalithaa had herself done the same while serving jail terms for corruption charges.
Lalu Prasad did it in style; Jayalalithaa too...
If we look at other parts of India to find parallels, Bihar comes to mind. The evergreen Lalu Prasad had been jailed in connection with the fodder scam in 1997 when he was the chief minister of Bihar, but that didn't stop him calling the shots, even from jail, after he installed his wife Rabri Devi as the CM and ran the show by proxy.
The arrangement did not disrupt the RJD's dominance in Bihar's politics and it continued to be dominant for almost another decade. And Lalu's magic did not end there either.
A couple of years ago, he was convicted in the scam and was disqualified from contesting elections. In 2015, Lalu led his party's alliance with friend-turned-foe-turned-friend Nitish Kumar in the state election and saw it emerging as the single largest party, ahead of powerful parties like the JD(U) and BJP.
The charisma and grassroots strength of the man did it for him and his party, irrespective of the legal questions.
But, does Sasikala have the kind of charismatic appeal that Jayalalithaa had or Lalu still has? Will her formula of pushing loyalists and engage in the same politics of patronage work out, given the fact that she herself has little experience or identity in politics? Only time will tell.
