Better known as ‘Amma’, the three-time chief minister’s career has been marked by a series of highs and lows but her rise in Tamil Nadu, a state dominated by backward politics, has been meteoric.
Born on February 24, 1948, in Mysore as Komalavalli in a Tamil Iyengar family, she comes from a Brahmin background and Karnataka - a state engaged in a bitter war over water sharing with Tamil Nadu.
Having lost her father at the age of two, Jayalalithaa's family fell into poverty and the family later moved to Tamil Nadu where her mother Sandhya ventured into Tamil cinema as an actress. T
She began schooling at the Bishop Cotton Girls High School in Bangalore and later in Chennai, Jayalalithaa went to school at the Sacred Heart Matriculation School of Presentation Convent and excelled in academics.
She soon forayed into the acting world, with the guidance of her mother and aunt, at the young age of 15, with her first film Chinnada Gombe (Kannada) becoming a major hit and Jayalalithaa going on to have a successful career in the Tamil film industry as an actress.
Jayalalithaa also acted opposite Bollywood superstar of yesteryears Dharmendra in the Hindi movie named Izzat and after a successful run in films. She retired from her film career after Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal in 1980.
Even though she never married, Jayalalithaa remained with her long-time partner, actor-turned-politician MG Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, until his death in 1987.
It was MGR, a chief minister of the state, who initiated Jayalalithaa into politics.
After MGR’s death, Jayalalithaa took over the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagham (AIADMK), but was shunned by a faction of the party that chose to support MGR's wife Janaki Ramachandran.
However, after a poor electoral performance of the Janaki Ramachandran-led faction, Jayalalithaa later took over as the united leadership of the party at a time when the DMK was the only dominant force in Tamil Nadu politics
In 1991, her alliance with the Congress party propelled the coalition to a massive victory. She was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly and became the first elected woman chief minister of Tamil Nadu, going on to serve the full tenure.
However in 1996, due to an anti-incumbency wave, and several allegations of corruption and malfeasance against her and her ministers, she lost power to the DMK in 1996 only to return to power with a huge majority in the 2001 elections.
She faced several criminal lawsuits, mostly dealing with embezzlement and monetary fraud, and in 2001 was convicted of criminal breach of trust. She was deemed ineligible to rule a state as a chief minister.
But in 2003, with the backing of her party, she controversially became the Chief Minister as a non-elected member of the assembly and was later acquitted by the Supreme Court for lack of conclusive evidence.
However, having led her party to victory, she controversially became the Chief Minister as a non-elected member of the assembly and in 2003 the Supreme Court acquitted her in the specific case for lack of conclusive evidence to convict her.
She was also embroiled in a huge brohuhaha when police raided her premises and reportedly found large quantities of diamond-studded gold jewellery, more than 10,000 saris and 750 pairs of shoes, exposing an extravagant lifestyle while she led a state with acute poverty.
But despite a slew of allegations against her, Jayalalithaa is credited for reforms like banning of high interest private loans, completion of New Veeranam Water Supply Scheme for Chennai and all women police stations.
She also faced the ire of activists of the National Human Rights Council, after she called for a law banning people of foreign origin from becoming prime minister or assuming other high offices, in attempts to supposedly hit out at t Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
After being defeated in the 2006 Assembly elections, Jayalalithaa decided not to attend the assembly except if "absolutely necessary" but as a testament to her grasp over her party, she remained the unchalleged leader of the opposition.
Despite such a less-than-sparkling track record, her party swept the 2011 Assembly elections by a huge majority. But analysts say much of the onus of her victory was due to the corruption allegations against the ruling Congress-DMK coalition.
What came to be known as the nation’s biggest corruption scandal, not only saw one of DMK’s own A Raja at the epicentre of the 2G scam, but also tarnished the image of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s family which was accused of routing the kickbacks in the scandal.
With just two choices ahead, the people of Tamil Nadu seemed to pick the one with a slight less burning accusations levelled against, analysts said.
Now that she is set to takeover as the state’s chief minister, it remains to seen what Jayalalithaa does to pin down the DMK stalwarts and whether she manages to leave behind her own public image riddled with graft and overindulgence charges.
Born on February 24, 1948, in Mysore as Komalavalli in a Tamil Iyengar family, she comes from a Brahmin background and Karnataka - a state engaged in a bitter war over water sharing with Tamil Nadu.
Having lost her father at the age of two, Jayalalithaa's family fell into poverty and the family later moved to Tamil Nadu where her mother Sandhya ventured into Tamil cinema as an actress. T
She began schooling at the Bishop Cotton Girls High School in Bangalore and later in Chennai, Jayalalithaa went to school at the Sacred Heart Matriculation School of Presentation Convent and excelled in academics.
She soon forayed into the acting world, with the guidance of her mother and aunt, at the young age of 15, with her first film Chinnada Gombe (Kannada) becoming a major hit and Jayalalithaa going on to have a successful career in the Tamil film industry as an actress.
Jayalalithaa also acted opposite Bollywood superstar of yesteryears Dharmendra in the Hindi movie named Izzat and after a successful run in films. She retired from her film career after Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal in 1980.
Even though she never married, Jayalalithaa remained with her long-time partner, actor-turned-politician MG Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, until his death in 1987.
It was MGR, a chief minister of the state, who initiated Jayalalithaa into politics.
After MGR’s death, Jayalalithaa took over the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagham (AIADMK), but was shunned by a faction of the party that chose to support MGR's wife Janaki Ramachandran.
However, after a poor electoral performance of the Janaki Ramachandran-led faction, Jayalalithaa later took over as the united leadership of the party at a time when the DMK was the only dominant force in Tamil Nadu politics
In 1991, her alliance with the Congress party propelled the coalition to a massive victory. She was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly and became the first elected woman chief minister of Tamil Nadu, going on to serve the full tenure.
However in 1996, due to an anti-incumbency wave, and several allegations of corruption and malfeasance against her and her ministers, she lost power to the DMK in 1996 only to return to power with a huge majority in the 2001 elections.
She faced several criminal lawsuits, mostly dealing with embezzlement and monetary fraud, and in 2001 was convicted of criminal breach of trust. She was deemed ineligible to rule a state as a chief minister.
But in 2003, with the backing of her party, she controversially became the Chief Minister as a non-elected member of the assembly and was later acquitted by the Supreme Court for lack of conclusive evidence.
However, having led her party to victory, she controversially became the Chief Minister as a non-elected member of the assembly and in 2003 the Supreme Court acquitted her in the specific case for lack of conclusive evidence to convict her.
She was also embroiled in a huge brohuhaha when police raided her premises and reportedly found large quantities of diamond-studded gold jewellery, more than 10,000 saris and 750 pairs of shoes, exposing an extravagant lifestyle while she led a state with acute poverty.
But despite a slew of allegations against her, Jayalalithaa is credited for reforms like banning of high interest private loans, completion of New Veeranam Water Supply Scheme for Chennai and all women police stations.
She also faced the ire of activists of the National Human Rights Council, after she called for a law banning people of foreign origin from becoming prime minister or assuming other high offices, in attempts to supposedly hit out at t Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
After being defeated in the 2006 Assembly elections, Jayalalithaa decided not to attend the assembly except if "absolutely necessary" but as a testament to her grasp over her party, she remained the unchalleged leader of the opposition.
Despite such a less-than-sparkling track record, her party swept the 2011 Assembly elections by a huge majority. But analysts say much of the onus of her victory was due to the corruption allegations against the ruling Congress-DMK coalition.
What came to be known as the nation’s biggest corruption scandal, not only saw one of DMK’s own A Raja at the epicentre of the 2G scam, but also tarnished the image of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s family which was accused of routing the kickbacks in the scandal.
With just two choices ahead, the people of Tamil Nadu seemed to pick the one with a slight less burning accusations levelled against, analysts said.
Now that she is set to takeover as the state’s chief minister, it remains to seen what Jayalalithaa does to pin down the DMK stalwarts and whether she manages to leave behind her own public image riddled with graft and overindulgence charges.
No comments:
Post a Comment