As the Tamil Nadu ruling ADMK has been preparing for the upcoming state polls, the party must brace up to get through what might be the political storm as Jayalalithaa's closest aide VK Sasikala would be getting released from the prison ahead of the assembly polls. Though her release has occupied the political debate, the recent letter penned by her from the prison had hinted that she would be getting released from the prison soon. 

Sasikala's release has been drawing more attention when the state nears the elections. Sasikala has been serving four years prison sentence in the Central Prison, Bangalore after she was convicted in the disproportionate assets case in which Jayalalithaa was the first accused. Sasikala was lodged in the prison in February 2017 and ordered to pay Rs 10 crore as a fine. As per her sentence, she is due to get released from the prison in February 2021. 

However, Sasikala has been on the debate of whether she would have a premature release, and earlier, her counsel had also said that she would be getting released soon if her remission of 129 days is taken into account. Remission is the reduction of the term of a prison sentence, usually due to good behavior or conduct. When an activist in Bangalore raised a question through RTI about her release, the RTI reply said that she would be released on January 27, 2021. 

However, she would be in prison for one more year if she fails to pay the fine of Rs 10 crore. According to reports, the jailed leader has been in the process of clearing the fine amount to deter further prison sentence. Speaking to a news agency, Sasikala's counsel Raja Sethurapandian said that the jailed leader has asked them to keep the fine amount ready and hinted that she would be released soon, much before her official sentence ends. 

She had penned a new letter to her legal team from the prison in which she shared the hope that she would be released soon. She had addressed to her legal team on October 15 and said that she would keep informing them about the release and asked them to keep the fine amount ready. In her letter, she further directed her counsel to discuss the issues with her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, signaling that she would take the leadership of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam after her release. 

She also has asked her counsel to initiate legal action against people who spread false news about her. By mentioning the news that stirred speculations about her health, Sasikala had asserted that the news around her health was completely false and stated that these rumors are deliberately spread to cause confusion about her release. Her letter had seemingly answered the speculations about her release, which would be ahead of the state assembly polls in which the ADMK party has been hoping to retain the power. 

Earlier, Pandian said that Sasikala is entitled to an ordinary remission of 129 days for good behavior and also for not seeking frequent paroles. Raja Sethoor Pandian had said that the process is getting delayed in the Karnataka Prisons Department. Pandian said that her client is ready to pay the fine amount through the Demand draft and he explained that it's not necessary that the amount should be deposited from her account. A person who is close to her can pay the fine by disclosing the source of the money.

The letter has emerged multiple debates in the ADMK party and among the leaders on what her release would cause to them amid struggling to have a strong consensus of the two factions, which recently reached a short term tussle and Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) was named as the party's Chief Ministerial candidate. As it would the first election for EPS as the Chief Minister, Sasikala's release would likely create political furor within the party which would add more challenge to the Chief Minister in facing the elections amid the external allegations from the opposition parties.