Who is running the administration in Tamil Nadu when the Chief Minister is out of actions for last 13 days owing to her illness?
The answer is known to all those who matter in the corridors of power although they prefer to remain tight-lipped lest they invite the wrath of the ailing Amma.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, it’s 62-year old Sheela Balakrishnan, a retired 1976-batch IAS officer from Thiruvananthapuram, who is calling the shots in the absence of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
Sheela Balakrishnan holds the court and sends out necessary instructions to the bureaucracy from the second floor of the same Apollo Hospital where Jayalalithaa is being treated for more than 10 days now.
“Even ministers are taking instructions from her,” a top official told Hindustan Times on the condition of anonymity.
“Jayalalithaa has implicit trust in Sheela Balakrishnan, both for her abilities and attitude, which is why she has become the most important person in the state today. Nothing moves without her consent,” he added.
According to the report, top officials of the state visit the Apollo hospital with two purposes in mind – one, to check on the chief minister’s health and second, to seek guidance from the bespectacled Sheela Balakrishnan.
Interestingly, another room on the same floor is occupied by Sasikala, a long time aide of the chief minister.
Balakrishnan retired in 2014 but she was appointed as the CM’s official adviser soon after, underlining the faith Jayalalithaa had in her.
Everybody from Chief Secretary P Rama Mohan Rao to Director General of Police TK Rajendran are seeking guidance from Balakrishnan in Jayalalithaa’s absence.
Balakrishnan’s grip on the administration is so strong that even influential ministers including O Panneerselvam, who became the CM twice when Jayalalithaa had to step down because of legal troubles, are playing only marginal roles.
The HT report further adds that orders dictated from the hospital are being implemented and overseen by another retired IAS officer, Santha Sheela Nair, who sits in the chief minister’s office in the state secretariat.
Santha Sheela Nair has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the CM’s office.
