This is not the first time that Indian politics has seen a personal fallout of the proportion of that between Ms Jayalalithaa and her bosom friend and confidante Sasikala. Not so long ago, former chief minister of UP Mulayam Singh Yadav had shown the door to his bosom pal and high society mentor Amar Singh. It was at the time a move that shocked the political world, not to mention Mr Singh himself. He was sacrificed to the adage that blood is thicker than water. Before this, we had the star-studded breakup between Rajiv Gandhi and Amitabh Bachchan. Politics is a real minefield for seemingly made-in-heaven relationships. Jayalalithaa and Sasikala’s was no different. Their relationship had been of the through-thick-and-thin and for-better-for-worse, for-richer-for-poorer variety. Of course, it was mostly for better and richer as both faced cases of disproportionate assets when shunted out of power. Though it was Ms Sasikala and her numerous relatives, dubbed the “Mannargudi Mafia”, who obviously got more out of this heavy-duty relationship than Ms Jayalalithaa did. While time will reveal some day what actually caused the trouble, the political fallout of this falling out is not likely to be traumatic for Ms Jayalalithaa, just like Mr Singh being shown the door did not affect the Samajwadi Party or Mr Yadav. All Mr Singh could take away was one star — Jayapradha. It is true that the “Mannargudi Mafia” had handpicked MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, but, in the ultimate analysis, the Sasikalas and Amar Singhs, for all the power that they wield, are in fact like the tail that thinks it is wagging the dog.