The year was 1999. Atal Behari Vajpayee had taken office as the Prime Minister of India, on the crutches of J Jayalalithaa and the 18 AIADMK MPs she had at her beck and call. Jayalalithaa was out of power in Tamil Nadu, but now held the plug on the BJP’s second government at the Centre (Vajpayee’s earlier term ended in 13 days). ‘If Jayalalithaa catches a cold in Chennai, Vajpayee sneezes in Delhi’ was the joke of the day, a couple of newspapers even ran headlines to the effect.
Jayalalithaa was flying to Delhi, with a plan in place to raid the national capital, aided and abetted by Subramanian Swamy. Yes, the trip now infamous for the number of suitcases she carried, which were rumoured to have cash, sarees or footwear, depending on who you spoke to.
A friend, whose father was a Tamil Nadu government employee and a big fan of the Puratchi Thalaivi, was entrusted with the task of arranging a fitting welcome for who could be the future PM of the country. He ferried two bus-loads of Tamil migrants from Trilok Puri to the airport, where they greeted their beloved leader with chants of ‘Puratchi Thalaivi Vaazhkaa’.
In return, this friend, fresh out of college, and a member of the AIADMK’s youth wing in the Capital, got an audience with the Empress. He bowed with respect, said some greetings, and Jayalalithaa took a few notes from a tray placed near her and handed them over. The next guy in line was rewarded with a bigger wad of notes, he had fallen at the feet of the Leader. My friend, born and raised in Delhi, had missed the trick.
For Jayalalithaa, that Delhi trip was in vain, from kingmaker she had become a butt of jokes. She pulled down a government, but gained nothing much in the process.
The Jayalalithaa that returned to power was a changed woman. She understood the importance of allies -- used them to win power and threw them under the bus once the elections were over. She ruled her party with an iron hand. She reportedly kept a leash on her trusted friend and aide Sasikala Natarajan, she brooked no hint of criticism, she dropped ministers at the drop of a hat. More importantly, the ornaments were missing, the suitcases were missing, the pomp was missing. She had understood the importance of perception. She was doing penance, so to say, for her sins of the past. The dictator became a practitioner of welfarism, fondly called Ammanomics after the several schemes she floated under the brand Amma.
All of Jayalalithaa’s obituaries in newspapers today talk about her industrial policies, pro-poor freebies, women’s safety, how Tamil Nadu, a big state, has scaled all development indices under her rule. The metamorphosis is complete. Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the Puratchi Thalaivi (the ‘revolutionary leader’), who was held in awe and fear, will be remembered forever as Amma by the people of Tamil Nadu.
(The writer has no expertise in Dravidian politics. He reads newspapers and watches TV news)
Jayalalithaa was flying to Delhi, with a plan in place to raid the national capital, aided and abetted by Subramanian Swamy. Yes, the trip now infamous for the number of suitcases she carried, which were rumoured to have cash, sarees or footwear, depending on who you spoke to.
A friend, whose father was a Tamil Nadu government employee and a big fan of the Puratchi Thalaivi, was entrusted with the task of arranging a fitting welcome for who could be the future PM of the country. He ferried two bus-loads of Tamil migrants from Trilok Puri to the airport, where they greeted their beloved leader with chants of ‘Puratchi Thalaivi Vaazhkaa’.
In return, this friend, fresh out of college, and a member of the AIADMK’s youth wing in the Capital, got an audience with the Empress. He bowed with respect, said some greetings, and Jayalalithaa took a few notes from a tray placed near her and handed them over. The next guy in line was rewarded with a bigger wad of notes, he had fallen at the feet of the Leader. My friend, born and raised in Delhi, had missed the trick.
For Jayalalithaa, that Delhi trip was in vain, from kingmaker she had become a butt of jokes. She pulled down a government, but gained nothing much in the process.
The Jayalalithaa that returned to power was a changed woman. She understood the importance of allies -- used them to win power and threw them under the bus once the elections were over. She ruled her party with an iron hand. She reportedly kept a leash on her trusted friend and aide Sasikala Natarajan, she brooked no hint of criticism, she dropped ministers at the drop of a hat. More importantly, the ornaments were missing, the suitcases were missing, the pomp was missing. She had understood the importance of perception. She was doing penance, so to say, for her sins of the past. The dictator became a practitioner of welfarism, fondly called Ammanomics after the several schemes she floated under the brand Amma.
All of Jayalalithaa’s obituaries in newspapers today talk about her industrial policies, pro-poor freebies, women’s safety, how Tamil Nadu, a big state, has scaled all development indices under her rule. The metamorphosis is complete. Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the Puratchi Thalaivi (the ‘revolutionary leader’), who was held in awe and fear, will be remembered forever as Amma by the people of Tamil Nadu.
(The writer has no expertise in Dravidian politics. He reads newspapers and watches TV news)
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