Jayalalithaa: Mother of comebacks

 She’s most dangerous when she’s down and out,” goes the received wisdom in Tamil Nadu politics. And going by her track record, that’s a rather accurate description of 63-year old Jayalalithaa Jayaraman, AIADMK general secretary and chief minister-in-waiting. From that day in 1987 when she was pushed down from the cortege carrying the body of her mentor MG Ramachandran (MGR), to the present day, the script hasn’t changed. A battered Jaya fighting with her back to the wall and staging dramatic comebacks. Jayalalithaa is Amma and Mother Courage to the people of Tamil Nadu.

Who can forget the picture of Jayalalithaa coming out of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly in 1989, hair disheveled and sari torn — allegedly the handiwork of some DMK legislators. In the 1991 assembly election, AIADMK decimated Karunanidhi’s DMK and she became the chief minister. Her party was a one-woman army.

Surrounded by sycophants
Most male leaders of the AIADMK, who were sore at her walking away with the control of the party machinery, did not offer her any kind of guidance and she fell into the mire of corruption over the next five years. The 1996 assembly election saw AIADMK biting the dust and the DMK government romping home. Leaders belonging to the MGR era left AIADMK. Jayalalithaa was surrounded by a group of self-seekers and sycophants.

The DMK government under Karunanidhi got her arrested on a series of corruption charges and a good part of her time was spent in the three special courts set up exclusively for her trial.

But the 2001 assembly election was a landmark event in the state. Though Karunanidhi had everything under his command, including support from the Union government, it was a Jayalalithaa show. And she achieved the seemingly impossible feat of bringing together the Congress and the communists into her fold. In Tamil Nadu, the Congress and the Left fought the 1999 Lok Sabha election and the 2001 assembly election under her leadership.             

Misunderstood by many
“She has wonderful political acumen, as good as leaders of any other major parties,” says ‘Cho’  Ramaswamy, well known Tamil columnist. Her opponents say she is arrogant, autocratic and hot-headed. “I don’t think she is arrogant,” says Cho. On the other hand, Vasanthi, who authored Jayalalithaa, A Portrait, points out that she is the supremo of a political party with 32 per cent vote share and there is nothing wrong even if she is arrogant. “It is her tough exterior which has been misunderstood as arrogance,” says Vasanthi.   

“She is kind, cultured and has a no-nonsense approach. She does not have time to waste on soliloquies,” says MR Venkatesh, a chartered accountant who has worked with her. “Her tolerance level for nonsense is very low and this is what we misunderstand as arrogance,” he adds.

But there is an established tradition of party workers and leaders falling at her feet to show their servility and dedication. “Falling at a leader’s feet has been part of Tamil political culture since the days of E V Ramaswamy Naiker, the founder of the Dravida movement. Those days, we did not have so many media outlets to portray those events,” says Venkatesh.

Her campaign style itself is unique. She addresses road side meetings sitting in her custom-built Tempo Traveller. This writer has seen Mani Shankar Iyer, the Congress candidate from Myladuthurai, standing in scorching sun with folded hands while Amma introduced him to the voters sitting in her air conditioned campaign vehicle. A scene which one will not forget.         

In her 2011 campaign, she will be focusing on corruption. With DMK’s A Raja jailed in connection with the 2G scam, Karunanidhi may find it tough to counter her allegations. Opponents may ask whether she has any locus standi to speak about corruption since she herself has been an accused in many cases. “The DMK foisted some 11 cases over her. She has been acquitted in nine of those. She is fighting the remaining cases,” says Cho, who rates Amma as the best bet for Tamil Nadu politics.

Her status as the Amma of Tamil Nadu is a honour bestowed on her by the people, according to Vasanthi. “Amma is the most dignified term and is definitely better than terms like Thalaivar (leader) and Thalapathi (commander),” she adds. 

But with Amma expected to make a comeback on the back of DMK’s corruption scandals, what are the people’s expectations from her? Will Jayalalithaa offer the people anything different from what Karunanidhi did? “Absolutely nothing,” says R Venkaetsh, a media professional. “Everyone knows Jayalalithaa’s record and what she did when she was in power last. She will just take over where Karunanidhi and his family left off, and after some years, she will be booted out and it will again be the DMK’s turn to mint money. Sad part is people here don’t have a real choice.”