Ahead of Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, former AIADMK chief and late J Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala announced that she would step aside from politics and that she will pray for Amma’s (Jayalalithaa’s) golden rule.

Sasikala issued a statement Wednesday, appealing to Amma’s followers to work hard to ensure her rule. As Amma used to say, defeating the evil force DMK should be the main aim of all obedient cadres of Amma’s party, Sasikala wrote, while extending gratitude to all who showered her with love.

The former AIADMK chief has taken the moral high ground, not just by staying away from politics but also praying for the AIADMK to retain power in the Assembly election.

After being released from a Bengaluru prison after completing a four-year term in an assets case, Sasikala had last month announced her intention to engage in active politics. Her sudden announcement comes as a jolt to her nephew and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam(AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran, who was also ousted by AIADMK along with her in 2017. However, her move is expected to help the ruling AIADMK and avoid splitting of votes in the upcoming election.

On Sasikala quitting politics, Dinakaran said he tried his best to persuade her not to take this decision but to no avail, AMMK will contest the forthcoming elections under his leadership. He hinted at a possible alliance ahead of the polls, and mentioned that the party will announce the list of candidates on March 10.

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After Jayalalithaa’s demise in December 2016, Sasikala had taken charge of the party. She stood firm even though O Panneerselvam led a revolt against her leadership upon the advice of some RSS and BJP leaders. She picked her loyalist Edappadi K Palaniswami as the Chief Minister of the AIADMK government in early 2017, after Panneerselvam faction was defeated in a floor test in the Assembly.

The single-phase assembly polls in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 6 and the counting of votes will take place on May 2.

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