Chennai: The political scene in India, like any other country in the world, is dominated by men and dynastic power tussles. There have been very few women who have managed to break the shackles of traditional gender roles to emerge as a leader of the masses, and if there is one woman who deserves to be at the top of such a list, it is J Jayalalithaa.
She may have first rose to fame as an actress, but she reached the heights of power as a political leader in Tamil Nadu. And despite political pundits predicting that she would fall from power several times, she proved all her detractors wrong time and again, to establish that she was the people’s favourite in Tamil Nadu. Following are five victories that helped Jaya chart her successful political career:
1. Jayalalithaa’s first major political victory was in 1989, two years after the death of her political mentor MGR. The AIADMK was split into two factions, and the Jayalalithaa-led camp won 27 seats, making her the first woman to become the leader of opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Those who had chosen to not follow her lead, were left nursing their wounds, while Jayalalithaa marched ahead in the political arena.
2. The second and the most crucial win for the AIADMK supremo came in 1991, right after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Jaya stormed into power riding on a wave of sympathy for the Congress-AIADMK alliance and became Tamil Nadu’s second female chief minister. She also became the youngest chief minister, marking another historical first in her political career.
3. Jayalalithaa was embroiled in controversies and implicated in two high-profile cases when her party went to polls in 2001. But the electorate didn’t seem to care about the cases and the AIADMK alliance swept the Assembly elections, clinching 196 of 234 seats.
4. In 2011, the DMK was sure of a victory due to the cases piling up against Jayalalithaa, but she crushed their hopes for power again and led her party to a stunning win. This time, it was the DMDK and Left parties that were to taste the fruits of success due to their coalition with the AIADMK.
5. With three terms as chief minister under her belt, Jayalalithaa had mastered the art of tapping public sentiments. In a major political gamble, AIADMK decided not to ally with any major political party in the 2016 assembly polls. As early numbers poured in on counting day, it seemed that the DMK would form the Tamil Nadu government, but soon, it started trailing and Jaya’s party emerged as an undisputed champion. The ‘Puratchi thalaivi’ made history by bucking the trend and becoming CM for a record fourth term.
