The 69 birth anniversary of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday witnessed three claimants of her political legacy – the AIADMK faction led by Sasikala, the facton led by O. Panneerselvam and Deepa Jayakumar (her niece) — launch different activities. Through their actions, the leaders of these factions made it clear that the AIADMK’s vote bank, nurtured by party founder M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, would split between them in the immediate future.

While Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami launched an ambitious drive to plant 69 lakh saplings, the ruling party also distributed water and eatables to those visiting the Jayalalithaa memorial.

The launch of the scheme attracted criticism from the DMK and the PMK, which contended that government money could not be spent on schemes named after Jayalalithaa, who was held guilty in the disproportionate assets case.

While Ms. Deepa Jayakumar launched a new oufit and unveiled its flag, former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam announced that he would not rest until a Commission of Inquiry was instituted to probe into the treatment administered to Jayalalithaa.