March 15, 1989, goes down in history as the date that changed Tamil Nadu politics, forever. And the man behind that watershed moment was M Natarajan, husband of VK Sasikala, better known as late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's close aide.
March 15, 1989, goes down in history as the date that changed Tamil Nadu politics, forever. And the man behind that watershed moment was M Natarajan, husband of VK Sasikala, better known as late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's close aide.
Natarajan died at a private hospital in the early hours of Tuesday after a prolonged illness.
Sasikala who is undergoing imprisonment in the Bengaluru prison has obtained a 15-day emergency parole following his death and headed to his native Thanjavur district to attend his last rites.
It all started in 1989, when after a gap of 13 years, the DMK returned to power in the state following the demise of AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran and subsequent split in the AIADMK. Jayalalithaa’s faction won more seats than her rival faction led by MGR’s wife Janaki. Jayalalithaa who become the Leader of the Opposition was frustrated over the political development and wrote a letter to the Speaker and also to the newspaper offices on March 15, 1989, announcing her decision to resign as MLA and quit politics.
Natarajan who along with his wife Sasikala was living in Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence came to know about her letter, which she had handed over to her driver to deliver to the Speaker and some newspaper offices. He got hold of the letter to ensure Jayalalithaa did not quit politics and hid it in his house in Alwarpet.
However, the letter was published in the DMK’s mouthpiece Murasoli after the police took it from his residence when they raided his residence in connection with a complaint filed by an AIADMK party ticket aspirant. Jayalalithaa, who wanted to quit the politics was angered by the DMK’s manoeuvre and decided to stay back and fight. The rest is history.
Natarajan, who began his political career in the DMK during the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation had his marriage with Sasikala solemnised by DMK chief M Karunanidhi. He got a job as a public relation officer after being dissuaded by senior DMK leader L Ganesan from joining politics. During his stint as district PRO in the South Arcot district, he and his wife Sasikala who was running a video recording and cassette-lending business got the introduction of Jayalalithaa in 1982 through the district collector VS Chandralekha. Sasikala got the order for video recording Jayalalithaa’s meeting in Cuddalore. Soon, Sasikala becomes a trusted friend of Jayalalithaa and the couple moved to her Poes Garden residence.
Chandralekha said that if not for Natarajan, Jayalalithaa would not have been in the politics. “I don’t know how many people knew it. After the demise of MGR, Jayalalithaa wanted to quit politics altogether. It was Natarajan who stood behind her. He played an important role in Jayalalithaa becoming chief minister,” she said.
When Jayalalithaa become Chief Minister in 1991, Natarajan was accused of dominating her and taking decisions in the party and the administration. Though initially, Jayalalithaa denied the reports claiming the couple were her friends, she suddenly banned Natarajan from her home and instructed her party office bearers not to have contact with him. In a strongly worded statement, Jayalalithaa accused Natarajan of trying to create an impression that he was managing the affairs of the AIADMK. However, Sasikala continued to stay with Jayalalithaa.
Even after he exited from Poes Garden, Natarajan continued to wield influence on the AIADMK despite Jayalalithaa taking potshots at him. In a recent interview, Natarajan claimed that he had drafted AIADMK’s manifesto for the 2011 Assembly polls with the help of retired IAS officers.
Natarajan who was the editor of Puthiya Parvai, a literary magazine, was a known sympathiser of LTTE. He resurfaces in the politics after the demise of Jayalalithaa in December 2016. He claimed that he had politically groomed and mentored her. But he fell sick soon. He underwent a dual organ transplant in November last year and was in and out of the hospital ever since.
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court confirmed the trial court conviction in the car import case and he was sentenced to two years imprisonment. However, he obtained bail from the Supreme Court.
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