While the Tamil Nadu political parties are in full swing of preparations for the upcoming legislative elections, jailed leader VK Sasikala has been nearing her release from prison which would cause a political storm in the state, particularly to the ruling ADMK party, from where she was removed by the current leaders following the prison sentence. 

VK Sasikala was a close aide of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and she has been serving a four-year prison sentence at the Parappana Agrahara Central prison in Bangalore after she was convicted in the disproportionate assets case in which Jayalalithaa was the first accused. VK Sasikala has been lodged at the prison since 2017 and she is due to get released in February 2021, three months ahead of the assembly polls in which the ruling leaders are hoping for another term. 

Stirring speculations about her early release, the reports close to the developments have said that the Karnataka prison department has been on high alert and working out the security measures to enhance the security from the prison premises to the state border as Sasikala is nearing her release. As it has been expected that she would be released on January 27, 2021, the Karnataka officials are reviewing the situations around her release. 

Though VK Sasikala has been behind the bars for the past four years, she has been occupying a part of the political debates within the ruling party and across the state where some of the members of ADMK have been expecting her release. Sasikala's nephew TTV Dhinakaran has launched the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam party in the state following her prison sentence and to dissent against the current ADMK leaders. Dhinakaran has named Sasikala as the General Secretary of the outfit. 

It has been expected that she would plunge into active politics after her release and ahead of the assembly polls. Sasikala has been lodged in prison along with her relatives Sudhakaran and Illavarasi and all three of them were slapped with a fine amount of Rs 10 crore each, failing which they would be confined in the prison for one more year. In September, when she has been surfaced with speculations of early release, the Karnataka prison department has replied to the RTI query raised by the activist on Sasikala's release in which the department revealed that she would be released from the prison on January 27, 2021. 

The department further stated Sasikala would be lodged in prison for one more year if she fails to pay the fine of Rs 10 crore. However, according to reports, Sasikala had recently paid the fine amount to the court and she would be having a hassle-free release. Earlier last month, the jailed leader has moved her plea seeking an early release from prison under the grounds of remission. The reports close to the developments had said that her application for premature release had been forwarded to the concerned state officials by the prison authorities. 

Sasikala had submitted her request for early release to the Parappana Agrahara Jail authorities on November 19 and in her petition, she had said that she had 129 days of remission in her credit and she would need only 69 days of that period to be released from jail as on November 19. With no confirmation for her early release, Sasikala now nears to get released on January 27, 2021. 

Sasikala's counsel Raja Senthoor Pandian has said that they have been waiting for the official confirmation from the prison authorities on her release. According to our sources, the Karnataka Home department has sent an advisory to Bangalore police and the Parappana Agrahara prison officials concerning the measures that need to be followed during Sasikala's release. In that advisory, the Home department has asked the prison officials to arrange security measures at least two days prior to her release. 

By citing that thousands of Sasikala's supporters would march towards prison on her release, the home department has asked the police to barricade the supporters at the state border to ensure to avoid any untoward incidents and to maintain law and order in the state. The state home department has also advised the prison officials to decide on the timing of her release. The sources say that the home department has advised the police to escort Sasikala to the Tamil Nadu border with full security and the state has given liberty to the prison officials to perform a smooth and secured release. 

As the advisory from the home department has fueled fresh speculations on her release, the developments have been keenly watched by the political parties in Tamil Nadu as they have been preparing for the polls.  Her release has been expected to cause a political storm and disputes within the ADMK when Edappadi Palaniswami is trying to keep his stronghold in becoming the party's face after Jayalalithaa.