Name of political party will be officially announced within a week: V K Sasikala

Chennai, Feb 26 (PTI) Expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala on Thursday said the name of her proposed political party will be officially announced within a week, even as she asserted that the outfit would play a decisive role in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections.

The announcement comes just two days after Sasikala, the former confidante of late J Jayalalithaa, formally ended her nine-year political hiatus by unveiling a new party flag during a public meeting at Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram district, coinciding with Jayalalithaa’s 78th birth anniversary.

"The name of her party will be revealed within a week. We are holding talks regarding an alliance, and it will culminate in a good decision," Sasikala told reporters at the Chennai airport.

Asked about the limited time available to build a party apparatus before the state goes to polls in a few months, she said that the people of Tamil Nadu know her well and there would be no difficulty in reaching the electorate.

The new party flag, which she displayed during the Ramanathapuram event, features horizontal stripes of black, white, and red, embossed with the portraits of Dravidian icons C N Annadurai, M G Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa.

Sasikala, who was expelled from the AIADMK in 2017 following her conviction in a disproportionate assets case, had initially attempted to reclaim control of the parent party. However, after consistent rebuffs from the current leadership led by Edappadi K Palaniswami, she has chosen to float her own outfit to challenge both the ruling DMK and her former party.

"I remained silent all these years hoping for unity, but the present circumstances have forced me to take this decision. Staying inactive now would be a betrayal to the party cadres and the people of Tamil Nadu," she said, while launching a scathing attack on Palaniswami for allegedly betraying her after she elevated him to the Chief Minister's post in 2017.

Though Sasikala remains legally barred from contesting elections until 2027 due to the Representation of the People Act, she clarified that her party would field candidates and participate actively in the 2026 democratic process. PTI JR JR ROH