Sasikala Launches New Party: Will the 'Pasumpon Factor' Reshape Tamil Nadu’s 2026 Election?

It is not often that Tamil Nadu’s politics offers a sense of déjà vu wrapped in defiance. Yet, on the hallowed soil of Pasumpon, V.K. Sasikala—once the inseparable shadow of J. Jayalalithaa—has chosen to script what could well be the decisive final chapter of her political journey.

For a woman who occupied the nerve centre of power at Fort St. George during Jayalalithaa’s towering years, the announcement of a new political outfit is as much an assertion as it is an admission. Marginalised from the AIADMK, edged out of its corridors, and denied re-entry despite periodic overtures, Sasikala appears to have reconciled herself to the inevitability of walking alone.

Her fall was neither sudden nor entirely unforeseen. The disproportionate assets case, culminating in imprisonment, marked the sharpest rupture in her political ascent. Before her incarceration, she anointed Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) as Chief Minister—a move then seen as tactical consolidation. But in politics, power once ceded is seldom returned intact. By the time she walked free four years later, the party machinery had slipped decisively into Palaniswami’s grip.

Repeated declarations of "reunifying" the AIADMK met a stone wall. Palaniswami’s refusal to reopen the gates was categorical, leaving Sasikala in a cul-de-sac of diminishing options. With the 2026 Assembly election shaping into a multi-cornered contest, her hand has finally been forced.

For months, Sasikala has been quietly mobilising loyalists and the disaffected. The choice of Pasumpon as her staging ground is politically loaded; it is not merely geography, but a calculated invocation of legacy and identity.

The southern belt’s electoral arithmetic is already fragmented:

 * O. Panneerselvam (OPS) is fighting to retain relevance and project residual strength.

 * T.T.V. Dhinakaran has charted his own course via an alliance with the BJP.

Should Sasikala formalise a separate path, the once-cohesive Mukkulathor vote bank—historically the bedrock of the AIADMK’s southern dominance—risks further splintering.

For Palaniswami, this presents a significant strategic headache. Reports suggest Sasikala may focus on approximately 30 constituencies where her residual influence could tilt outcomes. Even if outright victory remains elusive, her capacity to erode margins could prove decisive in a tightly fought election.

There is also a personal dimension. Dhinakaran’s proximity to the BJP reportedly unsettled Sasikala. Insiders suggest that his move, taken without her imprimatur, was read as both strategic divergence and a personal slight. By launching a new party rather than seeking accommodation, Sasikala is attempting to reclaim political authorship.

Is this a genuine electoral manoeuvre or a final attempt to reassert influence over the party she once controlled from behind the curtain? The answer lies not in rhetoric, but in booth-level arithmetic.

As Tamil Nadu prepares for a layered contest involving the DMK, the AIADMK, and an expanding cast of regional actors, Sasikala’s move introduces a volatile new variable. Whether this reshapes the southern chessboard or dissipates into mere symbolism remains to be seen. For now, the southern districts wait for a signal—and in Tamil Nadu, a whisper from Pasumpon travels far.