Chennai, Dec 5: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has passed away after prolonged illness. Jayalalithaa breathed last at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. The 68-year-old AIADMK supremo was admitted to the hospital for treatment of fever and dehydration on September 22. Recently Apollo Hospitals Chairman Pratap C. Reddy told media that Jayalalithaa is returning to normalcy and all her vital organs are functioning well. She was shifted out of Intensive Care Unit as there were no health complications, he had said.
Jayalaithaa entered politics following the footsteps of her co-star M G Ramachandran. She tasted her political success when she won from Tiruchendur assembly seat in a by-poll. AIADMK nominated her to the Rajya Sabha in 1984 and the same year she had to take the lead role in the political role after M G Ramachandran fell ill. Jayalalithaa led the party in 1984 Lok Sabha and Tamil Nadu assembly elections – winning the Assembly polls for the party.
AIADMK split after M G Ramachandran’s death in 1987. Jayalalithaa became the first leader of the opposition in Tamil Nadu in 1989 after her party won 27 seats. In 1991 Jayalalithaa led the party to victory and became the the youngest chief minister in the country.
Jayalalithaa had to resign as chief minister in 2001 after corruption charges but she came back as chief minister in 2002. The corruption charges continued to hound her and in 2014 she had to step down after she was sentenced to four year jail term and fined Rs 100 crore in disproportionate assets and corruption case. She created history in 2016 when she beat the anti-incumbency wave and returned to power with a thumping majority.
Jayalalithaa profile
From being born as Komalavalli to Tamil Iyengar parents in Mysore to becoming South India’s one and only “Amma”, J. Jayalalithaa lived a life that was extremely interesting and fulfilling. The actress-turned-politician went by many names, but to those for whom she became a political ideologue, she was called as “Puratchithalaivi” meaning “Revolutionary leader” in Tamil.
Born on 24 February 1948, Jayalalithaa had her difficulties cut out for her from the very beginning. Her father, who unfortunately could not accomplish much in life, passed away when Jayalalithaa was just two years old. However, Jayalalithaa had early on moulded her personality to one of strength and perseverance. She completed her education from Bishop Cotton Girls’ High School in Bangalore and later from Sacred Heart Matriculation School in Chennai. it is said that the populist leader had set her eyes on pursuing law, which, unfortunately, she was unable to do due to the circumstances that life threw on her.
With a little nudge from her mother, Jayalalithaa followed her aunt Vidyavati into the world of movies. She had a very successful and colourful career that spanned several decades. Amma started off by learning various dance forms and styles of music to support her acting career. Jayalalithaa learnt Bharatha Natyam and Carnatic music. She also learnt other dance forms also such as Mohini Attam, Kathak and Manipuri.
She had appeared as a lead actress in various films in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages. Jayalalithaa started her acting career in the year 1964 by debuting in a Kannada film ‘Gombe”. Jayalalithaa even played roles in English and Hindi movies. Though during life Amma will be remembered for many great things, the more than 100 films that she has acted in will truly keep her memory alive for the many years to come.
However, it was in 1981 that her life took a very different turn. Jayalalithaa ventured into the world of politics in 1984 by joining the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) political party. Through all her years of acting and politics, she was guided by her friend and very close companion very close companion of M.G.Ramachandran or M.G.R as he is popularly known as M.G.R
Jayalalithaa soon became a member of Parliament with a ticket from the AIADMK. After MGR’s death in 1987, Jayalalithaa contested and won the elections to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and soon became the first Woman Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu.
The AIADMKs alliance with the congress ensured that the murder of Rajiv Gandhi helped the party in winning elections on the basis of sympathy from voters.jayalalithaa was re-elected to the legislative assembly and became the first elected woman, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, serving the full tenure (24 June 1991 – 12 May 1996). On 14 May 2001, Jayalalitha became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the second time and held the post until 21 September 2001. Ammas’s political career has been so fulfilling for the masses of Tamil Nadu that on 23 May 2016 she took oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for a record sixth time . Jayalalithaa has six honorary doctorates from various universities. Amma, truly was a great leader in life and in death Jayalalithaa’s will be a name etched into the history of Indian politics forever. We bid her soul adieu with prayers that she may rest in peace.
