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Key Points
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nSheela Balakrishnan, retirednIAS Officer of Tamil Nadu Cadre, is widely regarded as blue eye lady of the late ChiefnMinister J. Jayalalitha. She had become the most trusted ally of Amma, a sortnof all-weather friend. Whether Jayalalitha was in crisis or enjoying good times,nshe never forgot to keep Sheela to her side. In fact, lots of politicalndecisions before the last Assembly Election was taken on the advice of Sheelanand the result only shows that this retired IAS officer is not only efficientnin administration, but also in case of political maneuvering.
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nProfile of SheelanBalakrishna
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nSheela Balakrishnan was bornnin Thiruvanthpuram, Kerala. She cracked UPSC Civil Services Examination at anvery young age in 1976 and got Tamil Nadu Cadre. She is considered as one ofnthe best women IAS officers that Tamil Nadu has ever seen. There is lots ofnamazing administration success which are credited to Sheela.
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nSheela is now 62 years oldnand retired. But, it seems retirement from IAS has only increased her worknload. She is now eyes and ears of the Chief Minister ofnTamil Nadu.
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nIt should be mentioned herenthat Sheela came close to Jayalalitha in 2002. When Karunanidhi came to power,nhe completely shunted her out and kept her on an smallest possible postsnwithout no real authority. She silently faced all those five years. When AIADMKncame back in power in 2011, Sheela was one of the first officers who wasnbrought to the State Secretariat and given big responsibility.
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nSheela had also become thenChief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. It should be noted here that Jayalalitha hadnordered Sheela’s appointment by superceding the senior most IAS officer. And,nwho was that senior most IAS officer – husband of Sheela Balakrishnan.nObviously, there was no controversy at that time because Sheela’s husband wasnmore than happy to see his wife handling bigger responsibility.
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nHusband and Family of SheelanBalakrishnan
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nThe husband of Sheela is R.nBalakrishnan. As mentioned above, he was also an IAS officer working with TamilnNadu cadre.
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nJayalalitha Hospitalizationnand Sheela Balakrishnan
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nSelvi Jayalalitha was hospitalized for 75 long days before leaving the Planet Earth never to return. During this protracted hospitalization, she remained the Chief Minister and there was no official notification about how the day to day administration will be handled. In fact, she left everything administrative in hands of Sheela Balakrishnan.
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nIt came to the light thatnthe person who took the command of Tamil Nadu while Jayalalitha was in thenhospital was none other than Sheela Balakrishnan. She has controlled everythingn– from AIADMK politics to state administration. Even the trusted lieutenant ofnJayalalitha had no say in the administrative decisions and everyone had to takenorders from Sheela who was also living in the Apollo Hospital.
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nSheela Balakrishnan isnhandling Tamil Nadu legally. She has been appointed as the Chief Advisor to thenCM just after retirement. And, hence, in this capacity, she can issue orders innthe name of Jayalalitha. It will be interesting to see how the new administration under OPS will use such a brilliant officer.
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nMUST READ: Who Killed Jayalalitha?
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nMUST READ: Who Killed Jayalalitha?
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