Amma - Jayalalithaa's Rise from Movie Star to Political Queen: An excerpt

Actor, politician, chief minister, Amma — for someone who has played as many roles off-screen and on it as J Jayalalithaa has, it’s surprising that there isn’t an authorised autobiography of Tamil Nadu’s Iron Lady, who passed away late on Monday night. The following is an excerpt from Vaasanthi’s book Amma: Jayalalithaa’s Rise from Movie Star to Political Queen:

While Jayalalithaa savoured her massive victory in the 2011 elections, she must also have relished the dark days that the Karunanidhi clan went through after they were routed in the elections. Karunanidhi’s protégé A Raja, union minister in the Congress-led government, and daughter, Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha MP, were charged in the 2G scam, arrested and sent to jail, on charges of alleged fraud and corruption. According to her, the DMK had lost ground irretrievably, and no longer posed a challenge to the AIADMK. As she declared to her party men after winning the 2011 Assembly elections, ‘Don’t worry about the DMK. As far as that party is concerned, it is a finished story.’

Her previous stints in power had taught her that impulsive actions of anger and vengeance would only harm her. As a result, her third term as chief minister was relatively tranquil, even though she remained unforgiving in many respects. Within the administration, she brooked no opposition, demanding that her word on any subject be considered law. She manoeuvred public support with her array of populist welfare schemes, thanks to which ‘the man in the street gets everything he needs’ in the name of ‘Amma’. [caption id=“attachment_3141858” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Cover of ‘Amma: Jayalalithaa’s Rise from Movie Star to Political Queen’. Courtesy Juggernaut Books[/caption] She projected herself as the mother figure in all her welfare schemes and election speeches. She off set any public discontent with her largesse: 20 kilos of rice free for each BPL family, mixie-grinders and fans – nevermind the still-existing power shortages – and bicycles for schoolchildren, all distributed as Amma products. Amma canteens run by municipal corporations sprang up in cities, selling idlis for one rupee each and curd rice for three rupees. The Tamils believe in the old adage ‘Be grateful as long as you live to the person who fed you’.

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Amma doesn’t quite realize how Tamil Nadu has changed since she first entered politics. There is a huge social churning going on among the youth, now exposed to the Internet and WhatsApp. New voices are rising against the long rule of the two Dravidian parties, the DMK and the AIADMK. The welfare measures have been a big hit with the lower middle class but the young now have different aspirations. When the rains poured like never before in Chennai and other parts of the state and the city was inundated by the delayed opening of the Chembarambakkam lake, the government stood paralysed for three days. The people were angry that Jayalalithaa did not rush to their assistance. The anger was still there as the May 2016 Assembly elections approached, and her opponents believed it would be refl ected in the results.

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As the campaigning gathered steam, she remained outwardly unperturbed and confident. Unlike the DMK that was desperate for allies she audaciously announced that her party would contest all 234 seats. All efforts by Karunanidhi to form a united front failed, and it resulted in a five-cornered contest: the AIADMK, the DMK+Congress, the BJP, the PMK and Vijaykanth’s front that had four groups of the People’s Welfare Front. Election analysts were convinced that the anti-incumbency votes would be split and that would be to Jayalalithaa’s advantage. But was her vote bank intact? Was her hold on the party still as firm? Would her welfare schemes bring her back to power once again? It would be a tough fight. Karunanidhi’s son and chosen heir, Stalin, had been travelling all over Tamil Nadu over the past year. With his complete makeover in dress and speech as a dynamic man with a modern outlook, speaking a language that the man on the street understands and appreciates, Stalin looked like a mass leader already, a fi tting successor to his father, the ninety-three-year-old Karunanidhi.

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At her election rallies, her silver Toyota Prado flying the red and black pennant of the AIADMK would arrive to thunderous applause. She would walk slowly to the canopied dais, her special cushioned chair surrounded by air coolers. Th is time, she did not deliver her usual rousing oration. Instead, she would read out a prepared speech before the lakhs of people who had been sitting in the hot sun from morning to see her. She would read out a list of her achievements, and also her complaints against her foe, Karunanidhi. Th is time, the fi re and passion was missing. But the crowds did not seem to mind. Indeed, the sight of her, looking tired and aged as she travelled from one rally to another, seemed to arouse their protective instincts. ‘Would they vote for again?’ journalists went around asking people at her rallies. Few were prepared to give a clear answer. But many said that whether or not they would vote for her, they would always come to hear her. In power or out of power, she will always be their Amma. Excerpted with permission of Juggernaut Books from Amma: Jayalalithaa’s Rise from Movie Star to Political Queen by Vaasanthi. Available in bookstores and www.juggernaut.in