Ex-Jayalalithaa's aide VK Sasikala meets Tamil superstar Rajinikanth at his residence

Chennai, Dec 7: VK Sasikala, the close aide of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, met Tamil superstar Rajinikanth at his Pose Garden residence in Chennai on Monday evening.

This is her first meeting with Rajinikanth after he was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke award. It is reported that she paid a visit to his house to enquire about his health and the meeting lasted for about one hour.

Rajinikanth was hospitalised towards the end of October and he had underwent Carotid Artery revascularization. He was discharged from the hospital on October 31.

In 2017, Sasikala and the other accused were convicted and sentenced to four years' imprisonment, as well as being fined Rs 10 crore each in Disproportionate assets. In January this year, she was released from jail in Bengaluru.

In a significant development, she announced her retirement ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections this year. However, she is now trying to reclaim the AIADMK.

In a recent statement, the former close aide of Jayalalithaa told the AIADMK cadre that a new beginning was awaiting the party. "Several people in the AIADMK have been expelled and sidelined and another section of workers have lost interest in party work. To all of you I promise that I will retrieve the party and take it back to its past glory. I will not retire until the party is made as an organisation driven by the cadre. Let us reclaim the AIADMK from those who are running the party as per their whims and fancies," DT Next quoted Sasikala as stating in a statement.

In an attempt to keep her away from the party, the AIADMK on December 1 amended its bylaws to strengthen norms which helps the current leadership structure of the top two positions held by O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami.

On the other hand, Rajinikanth, who had given several hints at joining politics, finally announced last year that he was not foraying into politics due to health issues.