AIADMK’s expelled interim General Secretary, V.K. Sasikala on Wednesday continued her telephonic interactions with the party cadres and lower-level functionaries across the state in a bid to regain prominence in the party.

Sasikala’s nephew and AMMK General Secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran had on Tuesday told reporters in Trichy that both he and his aunt were bent on retrieving the party from “detractors”.

With a well-established office at her T Nagar residence, Sasikala is continuing to make calls to party functionaries across the state but focussing on those in Salem and Theni, the home districts of party leaders K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam, respectively.

Sasikala, according to sources, had made calls to the party lower-level leaders on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and has spoken about the “golden” era of the AIADMK during the periods of MGR and J. Jayalalithaa and how she was playing a silent background role during these periods for the welfare of the party and cadres.

Both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi to discuss mainly the “vendetta politics” practiced by the ruling DMK as well as Sasikala’s attempts for a backdoor entry to the party. Unfazed by the party leadership’s opposition, Sasikala is continuing to speak with several cadres and leaders.

While Palaniswami and Panneerselvam are openly showing a close association between them, sources in the AIADMK told IANS that all is not well within the party after the defeat in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Sasikala is trying to capitalise on this rift and on Wednesday, spoke to a district-level leader of AIADMK at Salem and told him that Paneerselvam was supportive towards her on the inside and was waiting for the ripe time to throw his hat in the ring.

She, according to AIADMK sources, told the district functionary that being from the same Thevar community, she would get support from Panneerselvam in the days to come.

However, political observers did not buy the argument of Sasikala getting tactical support from Panneerselvam as the central leadership of the BJP is keenly involved in the day-to-day functioning of AIADMK and Panneerselvam is very much in the loop.

“Sasikala is trying her best but the AIADMK is having the support of the Central leadership of the BJP and this will work in favour of both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam. Sasikala is not in the good books of New Delhi and hence it would be an uphill task for her to regain control of AIADMK despite all the tall claims that she is making, “Madurai-based journalist and political analyst S. Sivasankar told IANS.