'Why should Sasikala do what Jayalalithaa did?'

'Jayalalithaa could not do what MGR did, and Sasikala will not be able to do what Jayalalithaa did.'

Even as both Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary V K Sasikala are locked in a tussle over who will form the next government, one Tamil newspaper reported that Sasikala has sought Congress support.

The Congress fought the 2016 assembly election as an ally of the rival DMK -- it has 8 MLAs in the state assembly -- and the newspaper report claimed the Congress had agreed to support Sasikala.

Speaking to Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President S Thirunavukkuarasu rubbished the report.

"They have not asked us and we are not supporting them. It's a problem of the AIADMK and we have nothing to do with it," he said firmly.

Even as the political drama continues in the state, where each MLA's vote in the assembly becomes critical, Thirunavukkarasu spent Thursday in Pudukkottai, not in the epicentre Chennai, and Friday in New Delhi, where he met party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.

So far the Congress' sole contribution to the political crisis is in accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of interference -- even this charge from New Delhi, not the TNCC headquarters, Satyamurthy Bhavan, in Chennai.

You know Jayalalithaa and Sasikala personally. How would you compare them?

Yes, I know both of them personally, but why should I compare them!

M Karunanidhi could not do what (the DMK founder and the late Tamil Nadu chief minister C N) Annadurai did, nor could MGR do what Anna did.

Jayalalithaa could not do what MGR did, and Sasikala will not be able to do what Jayalalithaa did.

But how does that matter? Why should she do what Jayalalithaa did? She will do what she can.

Does she have it in her to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu?

The situation in Tamil Nadu is very fluid.

First, let the governor do what he has to do.

He has certain Constitutional obligations which he must follow.

Let him invite someone to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, let that person function and then you and me will have this discussion about their capabilities and capacity.

IMAGE: Sasikala with Jayalalithaa, who she often described as her 'akka' (elder sister). Photograph: PTI Photo

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