J Jayalalithaa - Bidding for a larger role

Jayaram Jayalalithaa’s successful entrance into politics is at least partially due of the demi god status that the Tamils accord to their film stars.

Shafey Danish

Jayalalithaa’s successful entrance into politics is at least partially due of the demi god status that the Tamils accord to their film stars. She is the only from the long list of actors who have joined politics to have become a significant player not just in Tamil Nadu but in the politics of India as a whole. Political career She was introduced to politics by MG Ramachandran, a star of Tamil cinema and founder of ADMK party. Initially she was a member of the committee formed to oversee the midday meal scheme. Climbing the political ladder rapidly, she was next made a Rajya Sabha member and then took up the job of the propaganda secretary of the party. When Ramachandran died in 1987, and the party made his widow Janaki the chief minister, she decided to make her move. Claiming that she was his true heir, Jayalalithaa split the party. In the ensuring Assembly elections the Jayalalithaa faction won 23 seats while Janaki faction managed to win just one seat. From then one she became the head of the AIADMK, while Janaki faded from the scene. Jayalalithaa has served as the chief minister for Tamil Nadu three times, the last being between 2002 and 2006. In the last decade she has also become active in national politics, and has been wooed by national parties for her support. She formed a pact with the Congress in 1991 and rode to power on the sympathy wave for Rajiv Gandhi, who had been assassinated by the LTTE. She was a BJP ally and a part of the NDA when it was in power at the centre. But the electoral alliance was seriously damaged when the coalition could not manage to get a single seat in the last Lok Sabha elections. This time around the AIADMK is in the Third Front camp. Abuse of power Jayalalithaa has often been accused by her detractors of gross misuse of power. She has been in the limelight as much for her political heft as for her blingy lifestyle. In one raid on her house, the police claimed to have found 10,000 saris, 750 pair of shoes and large quantities of diamond studded gold jewellery. Jayalalithaa is criticised for fostering a personality cult in her party. Her diehard supporters are known to have painted her portrait in blood and walked on hot coals. Some of her ministers prostrate themselves at her feet. During her last term as the Chief Minster, she was in constant conflict with the media for presenting a ‘negative’ image of her and famously got into a spat with the Editor of The Hindu, N Ram. She also had her political bete-noire Mr Karunanidhi arrested during her term. Jayalalitha as PM? Her supporters on the other hand argue that she has been a transformational figure for Tamil Nadu, and has been instrumental in the development of the state. The Third Front has not put forward any names for its PM candidate precisely because it would all depend on the number of votes the combine is able to muster. In the last Lok Sabha elections the AIADMK did not manage to win a single seat. If she get a sufficient number of seats this time around, above 30 seats, she would become a powerful contender for the post of the PM. Her suitability for the post is of course another matter. But even if she does not get the PM’s post, which is quite likely, Jayalalithaa is going to remain at the center of politics for the foreseeable future.