Will Either Join AIADMK or Float a New Party: Deepa Jayakumar

Jayalalithaa’s niece said she would make her political plans public on 24 February, Amma’s birth anniversary.

Deepa Jayakumar bore a striking resemblance to her late aunt and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa as she addressed a press conference on Tuesday.

As Deepa stakes a claim to Amma’s legacy, her supporters see more than just the physical resemblance between the two women. They believe that their “Amma’s” blood runs in her veins, giving her legitimacy as her true heir.

Political Plans

More than a month after former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa passed away, her niece Deepa Jayakumar made her political debut on Tuesday, in a much hyped press meet that was beamed live on television channels.

However, Deepa deferred the announcement and stated that she would reveal her next move on 24 February, Amma’s birth anniversary.

I will announce my next plan on Jayalalithaa’s birthday.

Deepa Jayakumar

Deepa’s press conference on 17 January coincided with the centenary anniversary celebrations of late CM and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran.

On Tuesday morning, Deepa paid respects to the MGR memorial in Chennai. Hundreds gathered outside her house in T Nagar ahead of her big announcement.

Much has changed in Tamil Nadu politics. People, especially young people have demanded that I should enter politics. I wish to protect the trust that people have placed in me.

An Opponent for Sasikala

Deepa, who has been in the limelight ever since Jayalaithaa fell ill, also said that the late CM’s followers wanted her to enter politics.

I am starting a new chapter on MGR’s centenary birth anniversary. History will prove our victory.

The press meet came a week after Deepa declared that she had decided to enter politics. Speaking to reporters at Sandhya Illam, her T Nagar residence in Chennai on 9 January, she had said: “I represent new generation politics, we definitely need a change. We need politics which will address the concerns of the present society and pave the way for a better future”.

Following Jayalalithaa’s death on 5 December, senior AIADMK leaders rallied around her long-time aide VK Sasikala, urging her to take over the party. This came even as sections of the cadre expressed their anger against Sasikala, blaming her for Jayalalithaa’s death and questioning her leadership skills and her family’s political interference.

While Sasikala was elevated to party chief at the end of December, several functionaries looked to Deepa as a possible alternative.

Over the last few days, posters have sprung up in several parts of Tamil Nadu, announcing Jayalalithaa’s niece as the “true heir”, “Junior Amma”, and “Ilaya Puratchi Thalaivi” (young revolutionary leader), even as her supporters took creative liberty in morphing Deepa’s face with that of her aunt’s.

Life Away from Limelight

The 42-year-old daughter of Jayalalithaa’s brother, has, until very recently, lived a life of oblivion.

With an MA in International Journalism from Cardiff University in the UK, Deepa came into the media spotlight when she was barred from entering Apollo Hospital, where the late CM had been admitted.

Following her demise, Deepa was also prevented from visiting Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence, where her aunt’s body had been kept in the hours leading up to the funeral.