A signature campaign has been undertaken on behalf of Jayalalithaa Deepa Peravai to urge J Deepa, niece of J Jayalalithaa to enter politics. It is planned to collect at least 10 lakh signatures from supporters and AIADMK cadres all over the state, to persuade her take the right decision, in view of the political vacuum in Tamil Nadu politics after the sudden demise of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, said S Selvakumar, Coordinator of Jayalalithaa Deepa Peravai (Coimbatore).

“As staunch supporters of Deepa, we expect her to make her debut in politics by starting a new political outfit in the name of Jayalalithaa and we will claim the ‘two leaves’ symbol for our new party. The signature campaign is aimed towards this end,” Selvakumar said.

Deepa has said that she would come out with her plan on January 27, on the death anniversary of Dr MGR, the founder- leader of AIADMK and the Peravai members are busy soliciting support for her among the public.

“The groundswell of support is a natural process and it is not stage-managed by anybody. As Jayalalithaa spent her life as a spinster, Deepa, her niece, is legally the heir-apparent of the late leader and we the committed cadres would not let anyone hijack Jayalalithaa’s political legacy,” said Selvakumar, a AIADMK party worker of two decades.

“The sole aim of the political party, when started, will be to propagate the ideals of the departed leader Jayalalithaa, who stood for the causes of the common man and the impoverished. We are hoping against hope that Deepa, our leader, will take the right decision.”