The iron lady of Tamil Nadu- Ms Jayalalitha who ruled the state like a Prime Minister for a long time, has passed away. Her demise was announced by the Appollo Hospital where she was under treatment for 74 days.
Ms Jayalalitha who comes from film field like several other state political leaders embraced politics after the death of former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran in 1987.
Later years saw the emergence and growth of Jayalalitha as a rare breed on Indian woman politician who ruled her domain like an emperor. She made intense fight with rival DMK and undergone jail terms in a corruption case. Ultimately she won and maintained the trust of the Tamil people as thier unquestionable charismatic leader which she kept till death.
Nationally, Jayalalitha’s political career was remarkable as she made Tamil Nadu politics decoupled from national politics for a long time. The trademark Dravidian politics was at its high time during her tenure and national parties- the INC and BJP failed to make any headway in one of India’s largest state. At the same time, she made powerful influence at the center.
The people of the state called her Amma (mother) and the hierarchy of the party is such that she herself is the party. There are no notable second strung leaders who have any impact on the people. Now after Amma’s demise, not just the party, but also Dravidian politics goes leaderless.
*********
