Sheela Balakrishnan, retired
IAS Officer of Tamil Nadu Cadre, is widely regarded as blue eye lady of the late Chief
Minister J. Jayalalitha. She had become the most trusted ally of Amma, a sort
of all-weather friend. Whether Jayalalitha was in crisis or enjoying good times,
she never forgot to keep Sheela to her side. In fact, lots of political
decisions before the last Assembly Election was taken on the advice of Sheela
and the result only shows that this retired IAS officer is not only efficient
in administration, but also in case of political maneuvering.
Profile of Sheela Balakrishna
Sheela Balakrishnan was born
in Thiruvanthpuram, Kerala. She cracked UPSC Civil Services Examination at a
very young age in 1976 and got Tamil Nadu Cadre. She is considered as one of
the best women IAS officers that Tamil Nadu has ever seen. There is lots of
amazing administration success which are credited to Sheela.
Sheela is now 62 years old
and retired. But, it seems retirement from IAS has only increased her work
load. She is now eyes and ears of the Chief Minister of
Tamil Nadu.
It should be mentioned here
that Sheela came close to Jayalalitha in 2002. When Karunanidhi came to power,
he completely shunted her out and kept her on an smallest possible posts
without no real authority. She silently faced all those five years. When AIADMK
came back in power in 2011, Sheela was one of the first officers who was
brought to the State Secretariat and given big responsibility.
Sheela had also become the
Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. It should be noted here that Jayalalitha had
ordered Sheela’s appointment by superceding the senior most IAS officer. And,
who was that senior most IAS officer – husband of Sheela Balakrishnan.
Obviously, there was no controversy at that time because Sheela’s husband was
more than happy to see his wife handling bigger responsibility.
Husband and Family of Sheela Balakrishnan
The husband of Sheela is R.
Balakrishnan. As mentioned above, he was also an IAS officer working with Tamil
Nadu cadre.
Jayalalitha Hospitalization and Sheela Balakrishnan
Selvi 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.
It came to the light that
the person who took the command of Tamil Nadu while Jayalalitha was in the
hospital was none other than Sheela Balakrishnan. She has controlled everything
– from AIADMK politics to state administration. Even the trusted lieutenant of
Jayalalitha had no say in the administrative decisions and everyone had to take
orders from Sheela who was also living in the Apollo Hospital.
Sheela Balakrishnan is
handling Tamil Nadu legally. She has been appointed as the Chief Advisor to the
CM just after retirement. And, hence, in this capacity, she can issue orders in
the name of Jayalalitha. It will be interesting to see how the new administration under OPS will use such a brilliant officer.
MUST READ: Who Killed Jayalalitha?
MUST READ: Who Killed Jayalalitha?
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