Vivekanandan Krishnaveni Sasikala, also known by her married name Sasikala Natarajan, and often referred to by her initials VKS, is an Indian politician. She was a close associate of J. Jayalalithaa, the late chief minister of Tamil Nadu, who headed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) from 1989 until her death in 2016. After Jayalalithaa's death, the party's general council elected her as a temporary secretary general of AIADMK. Before entering the Central Prison in Bangalore, Sasikala appointed Edappadi K. Palanisamy as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Palanisamy and other ministers removed her from the post and expelled her from the party in September 2017. Her dismissal was upheld by the Madras High Court in December 2023.

Jayaram Jayalalithaa, commonly referred to as Jayalalithaa, was an Indian politician who was the six time Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She was initially convicted for misusing her office during her tenure of 1991–96. Subramanian Swamy was the chief petitioner. Some of the allegations involved spending on her foster son's lavish marriage in 1996 and her acquisition of properties worth more than ₹66.65 crore, as well as jewellery, cash deposits, investments and a fleet of luxury cars. This was the first case where a ruling chief minister had to step down on account of a court sentence. Ultimately, in May 2015, her conviction was overturned, she was acquitted of all charges, and she then died before the Supreme Court of India reviewed the case in 2017.