Sasikala may be released early from jail

Sasikala, personal aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, may be released from jail by September end, provided the Parappana Agrahara prison officials grant an ordinary remission on grounds of her good behaviour during her term, her lawyer Raja Senthoor Pandian said. The prospect of Sasikala's return to the political battleground is a contentious one. Just ahead of her imprisonment in the turbulent times around February 2017, she had installed Edappadi Palaniswami, who was then one among the many Amma loyalists, as chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Palaniswami had, subsequently, cut off ties with Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, and joined hands with the BJP for elections. Her return, just ahead of the 2021 state elections, would be a much-watched political event.