Jayalalithaa: The Comeback Queen Lost Her Final Battle

BENGALURU: Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa, the mother of all comebacks finally lost her battle and passed away on Monday, leaving behind millions of well-wishers and supporters in grief. She had been undergoing treatment at Chennai’s Apollo hospital since September 22 and finally succumbed to her illness on Monday. She was basically a survivor and it was never ever a good thing to call her ‘down and out’, as her rivals would admit.

There have been many instances in the past when she rose from oblivion like a phoenix and surprised everyone by her perseverance and fighting capabilities. The Economic Times has compiled a list of such instances when she rose from the ashes and reached the top.

The actor turned politician started her political journey in 1982, when she joined All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam under the leadership of the charismatic MG Ramachandran. In 1984, she was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha. In the same year MG Ramachandran feel ill and was undergoing treatment in the US. In his absence, she was stripped of all party posts and activities. But to the surprise of many, she won two crucial elections—the Lok Sabha and Legislative assembly elections. This marked the beginning of a long and successful stint as a politician.

After MGR’s death there was a rift in AIADMK, which split the party in halves. One section was with MGR’s wife Janaki Ramachandran, while the other was with Jayalalithaa.  Janaki Ramachandran became the CM of the state with the support of 97 out of 132 MLAs. But the dream lasted only 21 days, as Rajiv Gandhi dismissed the incumbent government and imposed President’s rule in the state.

J Jayalalithaa overcame this setback by winning 27 seats in the assembly and became the first woman leader of the opposition. Janaki quit the party having won only two seats.  It was followed by the incident of March 25, 1989, which marked a new low for J Jayalaithaa, as DMK MLAs tried to disrobe her when she was trying to exit the assembly. She vowed to come back to the assembly, but only as the Chief Minister of the state.

Then with a sweeping victory in the 1991 elections, she became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the first time. Soon after that she got embroiled in a controversy after spending a lavish amount of money on the wedding of her adopted son, Sudhakaran. The opposition was in no mood to let it go, and all the corruption charges led to her biggest defeat in the 1996 elections, which saw her win only 4 seats.

Jayalalithaa was arrested in December, when Dr Subramanian Swamy filed a case against her of having disproportionate assets. In 2001 she again came back to power with a landslide victory, but she was barred by the Supreme Court to become the CM of the state. In 2003, Madras High Court absolved her any wrongdoing and she became the Chief Minister for the second time.

Jayalalithaa once again had to go to jail in 2014, after Supreme Court convicted her to four years in prison. She spent one month in prison, after which the Karnataka High Court absolved her of any wrong doing.  She became the first leader in 32 years to win two consecutive elections, when she was elected for the second consecutive term in 2016.  All these instances throughout her life brought out the inherent fighting spirit in her.

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