Chennai, July 20(BPNS)

V.K.Sasikala, a close aide to former Chief Minister, Late J Jayalalithaa and former interim general secretary of the AIADMK visited ailing party Presidium Chairman, E Madhusudhanan at a private hospital in Chennai on Tuesday.

The visit of V.K.Sasikala has sparked a political debate with AIADMK leaders refuting any political twist to the much-publicized visit rather than meeting an ailing leader of the party.

AIADMK spokesperson M. Babu Murugavel while speaking to BPNS said, “She may have come on humanitarian  grounds and there is nothing political to it, and her attempt to try and confuse the party cadres won’t bear fruit.”

Sasikala came to the hospital in a car in which the AIADMK flag was tied. The party had earlier opposed her tying the party flag in the car when she was returning back to Tamil Nadu from Bangalore central prison where she was in judicial custody after being sentenced for four years in 2017 by the Supreme court in a case related to amassing wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income.

Sources in the AIADMK told BPNS that the former Chief Minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami, and a few other party leaders were at the hospital during Sasikala’s visit but they did not meet each other. Palaniswamy left the hospital as soon as Sasikala reached the premises.

The former Jayalalithaa aide was trying to be in the news ever since the defeat of the AIADMK in the 2021 assembly elections and was in constant touch with the party lower-level functionaries in all parts of the state. She is also having a dedicated office at her T Nagar residence to communicate with the party functionaries and disgruntled leaders across the state.

Meanwhile, AIADMK has in its official Twitter handle said that the people should not believe any rumours on the health of party presidium chairman, E Madhusudhanan, and said that the leader was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Appolo Hospital at Greams road.