E.T.B. Sivapriyan
Chennai, March 20: An hour after the casket carrying mortal remains of J Jayalalithaa was lowered into a pit near the resting place of her mentor M G Ramachandran on December 6, 2016, there stood a man in the darkness that engulfed the Marina Beach, claiming that he would emerge as “Queen-Maker” for the second time in 30 years.
The man was M Natarajan, the 74-year-old lobbyist who held sway over the bureaucracy and top echelons of power whenever Jayalalithaa occupied the seat of power in Tamil Nadu despite not being in her good books, and the Queen who he talked about was none other than his wife V K Sasikala – the soul-mate of the six-time chief minister.
Natarajan’s “vow” or declaration only gave credence to what was being whispered in the power corridors till then – he wanted Sasikala to step in to fill the “large vacuum” left by Jayalalithaa, by taking control of the AIADMK and later the government as chief minister.
Natarajan, who earned the tag of a willy politician and whose backroom manoeuvring awed even his sworn enemies, literally burnt the midnight oil to enact a stage-managed show that was made to look like spontaneous swelling of emotions among the rank and file for Sasikala attaining the throne of Chief Ministership.
Such was Natarajan’s influence in the AIADMK though he was banished by Jayalalithaa from entering her palatial Poes Garden, removed from the AIADMK and was even sent to prison in a couple of case. He never held any position in the AIADMK nor in the governments – but his control over the internal affairs of the party was at display in the run up to every election when MP and MLA aspirants queued up before his residence seeking his “blessings.”
Natarajan’s script stayed course till February 5, 2017 when Sasikala elected as AIADMK legislature party leader, but fate would have it other way – his wife ended up in the Parapana Agrahara prison exactly ten days later to serve her four-year term in disproportionate assets (DA) case.
Natarajan, the former government PRO whose marriage with Sasikala was solemnised in the presence of DMK chief M Karunanidhi in the 70s, was credited with bringing together the then warring factions of AIADMK led by Jayalalithaa and MGR’s widow Janaki after the matinee idol’s death along with leaders like the present state Congress chief Su Thirunavukarasar.
Though many in the ruling party would deny this today due to dramatic change in equations, Natarajan played a crucial role in projecting Jayalalithaa as the “only credible option” to lead the AIADMK after MGR’s demise and emerged successful.
His political astuteness was at display in 1989 when he ensured that Jayalalithaa’s resignation letter as MLA did not reach the Speaker — the letter was eventually found at Natarajan’s residence and the recovery led to a fracas in the state assembly that heralded the arrival of Jayalalithaa as a “true leader” and later as chief minister.
Natarajan and Sasikala were introduced to Jayalalithaa by bureaucrat Chandralekha in the early 1980s when the then film actress was being initiated into politics by MGR. Sasikala was hired by Jayalalithaa for video graphing her political rallies and a few years later, the couple moved into Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence to “ensure her safety.”
Later, Natarajan fell out with Jayalalithaa and was thrown out of Poes Garden bungalow that also meant estrangement from his wife Sasikala, though his access to power corridors was unfettered.
Born in Thanjavur in 1943, Natarajan, who began his political career as a student activist with the DMK, was an enigma even to his own people and he took to his grave the mystery of how he managed to remain powerful despite being publicly disowned by the “undisputed” Jayalalithaa. He also claimed to have shrugged shoulders with the late Kanshi Ram and former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.
Natarajan, who maintained a low profile, donned many caps – he edited a magazine known as ‘Puthiya Paarvai’ (New Vision) and headed several literary organisations – besides emerging as a vociferous supporter of the Sri Lankan Tamils. His business links were never known.
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