Jayalalithaa

In this Indian name, the name Jayaram is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Jayalalitha.

Jayalalithaa
ஜெயலலிதா
11th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 19th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 May 2015
Governor	Konijeti Rosaiah
Preceded by	O. Panneerselvam
Constituency	Dr.Radhakrishnan Nagar
In office 16 May 2011 – 27 September 2014
Preceded by	Karunanidhi
Succeeded by	O. Panneerselvam
Constituency	Srirangam
In office 2 March 2002 – 12 May 2006
Preceded by	O. Panneerselvam
Succeeded by	Karunanidhi
Constituency	Andipatti
In office 14 May 2001 – 21 September 2001
Preceded by	Karunanidhi
Succeeded by	O. Panneerselvam
Constituency	Did not contest
In office 24 June 1991 – 12 May 1996
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	Karunanidhi
Constituency	Bargur
Personal details
Born	(1948-02-24) 24 February 1948 Mandya, Mysore State, Dominion of India (now in Karnataka State, India)
Nationality	Indian
Political party	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Religion	Hinduism
Ethnicity	Tamil

Jayaraman Jayalalithaa (pronounced [dʒɛjələlɪd̪ɑː dʒɛjəɾɑːm]Tamil: ஜேயராமன் ஜேயலலிதா; born 24 February 1948), commonly referred to as Amma by people of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, or Jaya, is an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in office since 2015. Previously she served as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996, in 2001, from 2002 to 2006 and from 2011 to September 2014 and from June 2015 to May 2016. She has been reelected as Chief Minister on 19 May 2016 and she took oath as Chief Minister for the sixth time on 23 May 2016. She was an actress before her entry into politics and appeared in 140 films which includes Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films. As a leading actress in films from 1961 to 1980, she was considered as one of the most prolific and most versatile actress having appeared in films of different genres and for performing wide variety of characters. She was also known for her dancing skills. She is referred as the uncrowned queen of Tamil cinema. She is the general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). She is popularly referred to as Puratchi Thalaivi(Tamil: புரட்சி தலைவி) and Thanga Tharagai (Golden Maiden) by her followers.

As an actress, she had frequently worked with another actor-turned-politician, M. G. Ramachandran (MGR). This led to wide speculation that Jayalalithaa was introduced to politics by MGR. However, she has denied these claims and stated that she had entered politics by choice. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha, elected from Tamil Nadu, from 1984 to 1989. Soon after the death of MGR, Jayalalithaa proclaimed herself his political heir. She is the second female chief minister of Tamil Nadu after Janaki Ramachandran.

Jayalalithaa became the first incumbent chief minister in India to be disqualified from holding office due to conviction in a disproportionate assets case on 27 September 2014. On 11 May 2015, the Karnataka High Court acquitted Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case, and she resumed office as Chief Minister on 23 May. She was subsequently re-elected by the electorate of the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency of North Chennai in a by-election held on 27 June 2015.

Early life and education

Jayalalithaa was born on 24 February 1948, at Melukote, in Pandavapura taluka, Mandya district, then in Mysore State (now Karnataka) to Jayaram and Vedavalli in a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family. Jayalalitha was given her grandmother's name Koamalavalli at the time of birth. As per Brahmin custom, 2 names are given - one ancestral grandmother name and other being personal name. The personal name Jayalalitha was adopted at the age of 1 for the purpose of using the same in school and colleges. It was derived from the names of two houses where she resided in Mysore. One was "Jaya Vilas" and the other "Lalitha Vilas". Her paternal grandfather, Narasimhan Rengachary, was in the service of the Mysore kingdom as a surgeon, and served as the court physician to Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar of Mysore. Her maternal grandfather, Rangasamy Iyengar, moved to Mysore from Srirangam to work with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. He had one son and three daughters - Ambujavalli, Vedavalli and Padmavalli. Vedavalli was given in marriage to Narasimhan Rengachary's son, Jayaram. The couple Jayaram-Vedvalli had two children: a son Jayakumar and a daughter, Jayalalitha. Her mother, her relatives and later co-stars and friends referred her as Ammu.

Jayalalitha's father, Jayaram, was a lawyer, but never worked and squandered most of the family money. He died when Jayalalithaa was two years old. The widowed Vedavalli returned to her father's home in Bangalore in 1950. Vedavalli learnt shorthand and typewriting to take up a clerical position to help support the family in 1950. Vedavalli's younger sister Ambujavalli had moved to Madras and was working as an air hostess since 1948 and was also acting in dramas and films using the screen name Vidyaavathy since 1951. After a while, on insistence of Ambujavalli, Jayalalithaa's mother Vedavalli also relocated to Madras and stayed with her sister since 1952. Vedavalli worked in a commercial firm in Madras and began dabbling in acting since 1953 under screen name Sandhya. Jayalalitha remained under care of her mother's sister Padmavalli and with maternal grandparents from 1950 to 1958 in Mysore. Vedavalli took on the name Sandhya and began to work as an actress, first in local drama companies and then in Tamil cinema. She took on the screen name of Sandhya. While still in Bangalore, Jayalalithaa attended Bishop Cotton Girls' School. In later interviews, Jayalalithaa spoke emotionally about how she missed her mother growing up in a different city, and she had the opportunity to visit her mother during summer vacations.

After her aunt Padmavalli's marriage in 1958, Jayalalithaa moved to Chennai and began to live with her mother. She completed her childhood education at Sacred Heart Matriculation School (popularly known as Church Park Presentation Convent or Presentation Church Park Convent) in Chennai. She excelled at school and was offered a government scholarship to pursue further education. She won Gold State Award for coming first in 10th standard in not just her school but also in Tamil Nadu. She appears not to have accepted the admission offered to her at Stella Maris College, Chennai. She is fluent in several languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and English.

Film career

See also: Jayalalitha filmography

Early career

In Chennai, Jayalalithaa trained in classical music, western classical piano, and various forms of classical dance, including Bharatanatyam, Mohiniattam, Manipuri and Kathak. Her Bharatanatyam Guru was K J Sarasa, one of the finest dance teachers and choreographers of her time. Under Sarasa's tutelage, Jayalalithaa became an accomplished dancer, and gave her debut dance performance at the Rasika Ranjani Sabha in Mylapore in May 1960. The Chief Guest at the Arangetram was Shivaji Ganesan who predicted to Sandhaya, that her daughter will be a huge film star.

She acted as child artiste in Sri Shaila Mahathme (1961) in Kannada, which had Rajkumar (actor) and Krishna Kumari in lead roles. Y G Parthasarathy ran the drama troupe United Amateur Artistes (UAA), which staged English and Tamil plays. Soon Jayalalithaa while a school girl began acting in some plays of Y.G.Parthasarathy along with her mother and aunt. She acted in small roles in plays such as 'Tea House of the August Moon' and 'Under Secretary' between 1960 and 1964.Former Indian President V.V. Giri's son Shankar Giri saw her small role in the English play - Tea Houses of August Moon and was impressed. Shankar Giri approached her mother Sandhya and told he wanted to cast her daughter in an English film called 'The Epistle'. Sandhya reluctantly agreed with the condition that shooting should be held only during weekends or school holidays.

Sandhya had acted in the 1964 Tamil film Karnan (film) produced and directed by Kannada filmmaker B.R. Panthulu. A success celebration party of that film was held at the Woodlands Hotel for which Jayalalithaa accompanied her mother. B.R. Panthulu saw her and immediately decided to cast her opposite Kalyankumar in the Kannada movie 'Chinnada Gombe' and asked for permission from Sandhya. Since Jayalalitha would be studying for her PUC in two months' time, Sandhya declined the offer. Panthulu promised to finish all shooting within two months. Sandya agreed and Jayalalithaa started acting and she was paid Rs. 3,000. Panthulu kept his promise and completed shooting in six weeks. Jayalalithaa had forgot all about films after acting in her Kannada debut film and had got ready to attend classes at Stella Maris as she had ambition to be a lawyer. But the Kannada debut film became a blockbuster in 1964 and she became a well known face. Meanwhile, Jayalalitha continued acting in plays of Y. G. Parthasarathy. She acted in leading role plays such as 'Malathi,' 'The Whole Truth' and the dance drama Kaveri Thanda Kalaiselvi between 1960 and 1966. She made her debut as the lead actress in Kannada films while still in school, age 15, in Chinnada Gombe(1964). Besides that, she also appeared in a dance sequence of a song named "Malligeya Hoovinantha" in the movie Amarashilpi Jakannachari (1964). It was during the year 1964, financial debts had increased of Sandhaya and she suggested her daughter to make use of the increasing film offers coming her way.

She made her debut in Tamil dramas in April 1964 under YGP group in the drama named Undersecretary, wherein YG Parthasarthy and Sandhya were the lead hero-heroine, as the drama was based on middle aged couple lives. Jayalalitha and Cho Ramaswamy were paired together in this drama and AR Srinivasan was her co-star in this drama. Jaya played her character of sales girl in the drama. She did this play when she was idle sitting at home and YG Parthasarathy thought she can do this small character. Though it was her debut in Tamil drama circle, she acted as if it was not her first role in Tamil drama. Her performance made YGP decide to make her lead heroine in a drama named Malathy. Meanwhile, the film she had shot for during her vacation in April–May 1964, that is her debut films in Kannada Chinnada Gombe and Manushulu Mamathalu in Telugu, became blockbusters. By end of 1965 she had become popular in film circles among producers and directors. She was approached by C.V.Sridhar for her Tamil film debut as well. Between 1964 and 1966 she did around 35 shows of drama named Malathy and later discontinued as she became very busy in films.

Jayalalithaa's debut in Tamil cinema was the leading role in Vennira Aadai (1965), directed by C. V. Sridhar. She made her debut in Telugu films as lead actress in Manushulu Mamathalu opposite Akkineni Nageshwara Rao. Her last Telugu release was also opposite Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the film Nayakudu Vinayakudu that was released in 1980. She was the first heroine to appear in skirts in Tamil films. She acted in one Hindi film called Izzat, with Dharmendra as her male costar in 1968. She starred in 28 box-office hit films with M G Ramachandran between 1965 and 1973. The first with MGR was B.R.Panthalu's Aayirathil Oruvan in 1965 and the last film together was Pattikaattu Ponnaiya in 1973.

She had 11 releases in Tamil in the year 1966, spread across 12 months and each of them became successful. In the opening credits of the film Arasa Katalai, for the first time her name was affixed with the phrase Kavarchi Kanni. It was in the year 1967, that she bought her bunglow Veda Nilayam in Poes Gardens for 1.32 lakhs. Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar was on a look out for a regular heroine for his production after he had fight with actress Savithri, after release of Vetaikkaran and then he signed on Jayalalitha in 1965. She became a regular heroine for production house Devar films from the year 1966.

Jaishankar was romantically paired with Jayalalithaa in 8 Tamil films including Muthuchippi, Yaar Nee?, Nee (film), Vairam, Vandhale Magarasi, Bommalattam (1968 film) (1968), Raja Veetu Pillai and Avalukku Aayiram Kangal whereas the films Thanga Gopuram and Gowri Kalyanam had him play elder brother to her. Jayalalitha acted in twelve films as heroine opposite N. T. Rama Rao, in Telugu - Gopaludu Bhoopaludu (1967), Chikkadu Dorakadu (1967), Tikka Shankaraiah (1968), Niluvu Dopidi (1968), Baghdad Gaja Donga (1968), Kathanayakudu (1969 film) (1969), Kadaladu Vadaladu (1969), Gandikota Rahasyam (1969), Ali Baba 40 Dongalu (1970), Shri Krishna Vijayam (1970), Shri Krishna Satya (1971), Devudu Chesina Manushulu (1973). Jayalalitha had 7 films with Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Telugu - Manashulu Mamatalu (1965), Aastiparulu (1966), Brahmachari (1968), Aadarsa Kutumbam (1969), Adrushtavanthalu (1969), Bharya Biddalu (1971), Nayakudu Vinayakudu (1980). She also made guest appearance in Navarthi (1966). In 1969, in Tamil Conference held, she was given the tag of Kaviri Thandha Kalai Selvi. She has been given on-screen credit as Kalai Selvi in most of her Tamil films since 1967.

Later career

She acted with Ravichandran in 10 Tamil hit films including Gowri Kalyanam (1966), Kumari Penn (1966), Naan (1967), Magarasi (1967), Maadi Veettu Mappilai (1967), Panakkara Pillai (1968), Moondru Yezhuthu (1968), Andru Kanda Mugam (1968), Avalukku Aayiram Kangal and Baghdad Perazhagi (1974). In 1972, Jayalalithaa acted opposite Sivaji Ganesan in Pattikada Pattanama, which went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil in 1973. It fetched her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her performances in Chandhrodhayam, Adimai Penn, Engirundho Vandhaal fetched her Special Award from Filmfare and Tamil Nadu government in 1966,1969 and 1970. Her performance in Pattikada Pattanama, Suryagandhi were critically acclaimed and won her Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1972 and 1973 respectively. In 1973, she acted in the Telugu Sri Krishna Satya which won her Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Telugu. Her other films with Sivaji Ganesan include Galatta Kalyanam and Deiva Magan; the latter holds the distinction of being the first Tamil film to be submitted by India for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Jayalalitha was paired opposite Sivaji Ganesan in 17 films as his heroine and as his daughter in their first film named Motoram Sunderapillai. Jayalalitha had 6 films with R. Muthuraman as a romantic leading pair - Dhikku Theriyadha Kaattil, Thirumangalyam, Kanavan Manaivi, Avandhan Manidhan, Suryagandhi, Anbu Thangai whereas Muthuraman played supporting roles in Kannan En Kadhalan, Major Chandrakanth, Naan (1967 film), En Anann, Adi Parashakti, Ther Thiruvizha, Dharmam Engey, Chaitra Pournami and Oru Thai Makkal. She later appeared opposite Sivakumar in Kandan Karunai and Shri Krishna Leelai and Sivakumar played supporting roles in Yarrukum Vetkam Ilali, Thirumangalyam, Annaivelakanni, Kavalkaran, Motoram Sunderapillai and Ganga Gowri. She made her debut in Malayalam with Jesus(1973) and the film was huge hit. Her 100th film was Thirumangalyam released in 1974 directed by A.Vincent. Her last film in Tamil was the 1980 picture Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal but the last film she worked on and her last release as the lead heroine was a Telugu film in 1980, named Nayakudu Vinayakudu, which became the highest grosser of the year 1980 in Telugu. During the 1960s and 1970s, she starred opposite Dr. M. G. Ramachandran in a number of successful films, including Aayirathil Oruvan, Kavalkaran, Adimai Penn, Engal Thangam, Kudiyirundha Koyil, Ragasiya Police 115 and Nam Naadu. Cho Ramaswamy casted her in the lead role in his directorial venture Yarrukkum Vetkam Illai.

The heroes of her films never objected to the title of the film being conferred on the female lead played by Jayalalitha. Adimai Penn, Kanni Thaai, Kannan En Kadhalan had M G Ramachandran as the lead male hero but the story and the title was built around the character played by Jayalalitha. Similarly, Engerindo Vandhaal, Sumathi En Sundari, Anbai Thedi had Sivaji Ganeshan as the male lead but the title and the story was built around her character. She has done many women centric films, wherein the whole story revolved on her character like Vennira Adai, Yaar Nee? (film), Kumari Penn, Nee (film), Gowri Kalyanam, Maharaasi, Muthu Chippi, Thangagopuram, Avalluku Ayiram Kangal, Annamitta Kai, Vandhaale Magarasi, Suryagandhi, Thirumangalyam, Yarrukum Vetkam Illai and Kanaivan Manaivi.

Her successful Kannada films include Badukuva Daari (1966), Mavana Magalu (1965), Nanna Kartavya (1965), Chinnada Gombe (1964) and Mane Aliya (1964). Jayalalithaa holds the record for having been the Tamil actress with maximum silver jubilee hits in her career - 85 hits of 92 Tamil films as main female lead heroine and in addition she also has all 28 films in Telugu as silver jubilee hits. She was the highest paid Indian actress from 1965-1980. She made guest appearances in 9 films and 6 of her films were dubbed into Hindi. She had 119 box office hits between 1961 and 1980, of the total 125 films she did as the main female lead. Jayalalitha made a brief appearance as a chief minister crusading for prohibition in 1992 Neenga Nalla Irukkanum.

She has done mythological films like Kandan Karunai, Aadhi Parashakti, Shri Krishna Satya, Shri Krishna Vijayam, Shri Rama Katha, Shri Krishna Leelai, Shakti Leelai, Ganga Gowri, Annai Velankanni and Jesus (1973 film). Her period dramas include Ayirathil Oruvan, Neerum Neruppum, Mani Magudam, Adimai Penn, Ali Baba 40 Dongalu, Arasa Katalai, Baghdad Perazhagi. She acquired the reputation of being a multi-faceted actor equally comfortable in fantasy, mythological themes as well as in modern social dramas, who could switch between different genres. She and Saroja Devi have been cited as the first female superstar of Tamil Cinema.

C. V. Rajendran directed Jayalalitha in Galata Kalayanam, Sumathi En Sundari, Raja, Neethi.A. Bhimsingh directed her in Paadukappu and Kanaivan Manaivi.Director K. Shankar directed her in Gowri Kalyanam, Chandrodhayam, Kudiyirundha Kovil, Adimai Penn. Director B. R. Panthulu directed her in Chinnada Gombe,Ayirathil Oruvan,Nadodi,Ganga Gowri, Ragasiya Police 115 and Thedi Vandha Mapillai. Director P. Neelakantan directed Jayalalitha in Kaavalkaran, Kannan En Kadhalan, Kanavan, Mattukara Velan, En Annan, Oru Thai Makkal, Neerum Neruppum, Kumari Kottam and Raman Thediya Seethai. Director K. S. Gopalakrishnan directed her in Aathi Parashakti and Vandhale Maharasi. Director A. C. Tirulokchandar directed her in Deiva Magan, Engerindo Vandhaal, Dharmam Engey and Avanthan Manithan. Director M.A.Thirumugam directed her in Kannithai, Thanipiraivi, Muharaasi, Thaikku Thalaimagan, Ther Thiruvizha and Kadhal Vaganam. T. R. Ramanna directed her in Nee, Naan, Moondru Ezhuthu, Kumari Penn, Shakti Leelai, Vairam and Avallaku Ayiram Kangal. Director Muktha Srinivasan directed her in Bommalattam, Suryagandhi and Anbai Thedi.

Political career

Early political career

Jayalalithaa claims that Ramachandran, who had been chief minister for the state since 1977, was instrumental in introducing her to politics. In 1982, she joined the AIADMK, which was founded by Ramachandran. Her maiden public speech, "Pennin Perumai" ("The Greatness of a Woman"), was delivered at the AIADMK's political conference in the same year. In 1983, she became propaganda secretary for the party and was selected as its candidate in the by-election for the Tiruchendur Assembly constituency.

Ramachandran wanted her to be a member of the Rajya Sabha because of her fluency in English. Jayalalithaa was nominated and elected to that body in 1984 and retained her seat until 1989. Her success in her role as propaganda secretary caused resentment among high-ranking members of the party. By engineering a rift between her and Ramachandran, these members influenced Ramachandran to stop her writing about her personal life in a Tamil magazine. Despite these machinations, she remained admired by the rank and file of the party.

In 1984, when Ramachandran was incapacitated due to a stroke, Jayalalithaa was said to have attempted to take over the position of chief minister or the party on the pretext that his health would prevent him from the proper execution of his duties. She successfully led the campaign in the 1984 general elections, in which the ADMK allied with the Congress. Following his death three years later, the AIADMK split into two factions: one supported his widow, Janaki Ramachandran, and the other favoured Jayalalithaa. Janaki was selected as the Chief Minister on 7 January 1988 with the support of 96 members; due in part to irregularities by speaker P.H. Pandian, who dismissed six members to ease her victory, she won a motion of confidence in the house. However, Rajiv Gandhi used Article 356 of the Constitution of India to dismiss the Janaki-led government and impose president's rule on the state.

Jayalalithaa contested the subsequent 1989 elections on the basis of being MGR's political heir.

Leader of the Opposition, 1989

She was elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1989 as a representative of the Bodinayakkanur (State Assembly Constituency). This election saw the Jayalalithaa-led faction of the AIADMK win 27 seats and Jayalalithaa became the first woman to be elected Leader of the Opposition. In February 1989, the two factions of ADMK merged and they unanimously accepted Jayalalithaa as their leader and the "Two leaves" symbol of the party was restored. On 25 March 1989, quoted as one of the worst incidents to have happened in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, there was heavy violence inside the house among the ruling DMK party members and the opposition. Jayalilatha was brutally attacked and visibly molested by the ruling DMK members in front of the assembly speaker on the behest of Chief Minister Karunanidhi.Jayalalitha left the Assembly with her torn saree and this scene created huge sympathy for her and on the other hand people cursed the DMK leader and its member for meting out such iltreatment on her. Jayalalithaa drew a parallel with the shameful disrobing of Draupadi in the epic Mahabharata. At the peak of the situation, when Jayalalithaa was about to leave the house, which is seen by a section of the media as "not until I enter the house as a Chief Minister". Though some sections of media term it as a theatrics launched by Jayalalithaa, it got a lot of media coverage and sympathy from the public. During the 1989 general elections, the ADMK allied with the Congress party and had a significant victory. The ADMK, under her leadership, won the by-elections in Marungapuri, Madurai East and Peranamallur assembly constituencies.

First term as Chief Minister, 1991

In 1991, following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi days before the elections, her alliance with the Indian National Congress enabled her to ride the wave of sympathy that gave the coalition victory. The ADMK alliance with the Congress won 225 out of the 234 seats contested and won all 39 constituencies in the centre. Re-elected to the assembly, she became the first female, and the youngest, chief minister, of Tamil Nadu, to serve a full term, serving from 24 June 1991 to 12 May 1996. In 1992, her government introduced the "Cradle Baby Scheme". At that time the ratio of male to female in some parts of Tamil Nadu was skewed by the practice of female infanticide and the abortion of female foetuses. The government established centres in some areas, these being equipped to receive and place into adoption unwanted female babies. The scheme was extended in 2011. Her party had 26 elected members to the assembly. Her government was the first to introduce police stations operated solely by women. She introduced 30% quota for women in all police jobs and established as many as 57 all-women police stations. There were other all-women establishments like libraries, stores, banks and co-operative elections.

Loss of power, 1996

The Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK lost power in the 1996 elections, when it won 4 of the 168 seats that they contested. Jayalalithaa was herself defeated by the DMK candidate in Bargur Constituency. The outcome has been attributed to an anti-incumbency sentiment and several allegations of corruption and malfeasance against her and her ministers. The wedding event of her foster son Sudhakaran, who married a granddaughter of the Tamil film actor Shivaji Ganesan, was held on 7 September 1995 at Chennai and was viewed on large screens by over 150,000 people. The event holds two Guinness World Records: one is for the most guests at a wedding and the other is for being the largest wedding banquet. Subsequently, in November 2011, Jayalalithaa told a special court than the entire Rs. 6 Crore expenses associated with the wedding were paid by the family of the bride. There were several corruption cases filed against her by the ruling DMK government headed by Karunanidhi. Jayalalitha was arrested on 7 December 1996 and was remanded to 30 day judicial custody in connection with the Colour TV scam, which charged her with receiving kickbaks to the tune of ₹10.13 crore. The investigation alleged that the amount through the TV dealers were routed in the form of cheques to a relative of Sasikala, who had quoted Jayalalitha's residence as hers. She earlier filed an anticipatory bail in the trail court, which was rejected on 7 December 1996. She was acquitted in the case on 30 May 2000 by the trial court and the High Court upheld the order of the lower court.

Second term as Chief Minister, 2001

Jayalalithaa was barred from standing as a candidate in the 2001 elections because she had been found guilty of criminal offences, including allegedly obtaining property belonging to a state-operated agency called TANSI. Although she appealed to the Supreme Court, having been sentenced to five years' imprisonment, the matter had not been resolved at the time of the elections. Despite this, the AIADMK won a majority and she was installed as Chief Minister as a non-elected member of the state assembly on 14 May 2001. She was also convicted in Pleasant Stay hotel case on 3 February 2000 by a trial court to one year imprisonment. Jayalalithaa was acquitted in both the TANSI and Pleasant Stay Hotel cases on 4 December 2001 and the Supreme Court upheld the order of the High Court on 24 November 2003.

Her appointment was legally voided in September 2001 when the Supreme Court ruled that she could not hold it whilst convicted of criminal acts. O. Panneerselvam, a minister in her party, was subsequently installed as the Chief Minister. However, his government was purported to have been puppeted and micro-managed by Jayalalithaa.

Subsequently, in March 2003, Jayalalithaa assumed the position of Chief Minister once more, having been acquitted of some charges by the Madras High Court. This cleared the way for her to contest a mid-term poll to the Andipatti constituency, after the sitting MLA for the seat, gave up his membership, which she won by a handsome margin. India's first company of female police commandos was set up in Tamil Nadu in 2003. They underwent the same training as their male counterparts, covering the handling of weapons, detection and disposal of bombs, driving, horseriding, and adventure sports.

Jayalaithaa and US Secretary Hillary Clinton

Third term as Chief Minister, 2011

In April 2011 the AIADMK was part of a 13-party alliance that won the 14th state assembly elections. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the third time on 16 May 2011, having been elected unanimously as the leader of the AIADMK party subsequent to those elections. On 19 December 2011, Jayalalithaa expelled her long-time close aide Sasikala Natarajan and 13 others from the AIADMK. Most of the party members welcomed her decision, and on 2 February 2012, Tehelka magazine claimed that Natarajan and some of her relatives were conspiring to kill her by poisoning her food over a period of time. The matter was resolved by 31 March, when Sasikala Natarajan was reinstated as a party member after issuing a written apology.

Disproportionate Assets case, 2014

See also: Disproportionate Asset case against Jayalalithaa

On 27 September 2014, Jayalalithaa was sentenced to four years in jail and fined Rs 100 crore by the Special Court in Bangalore. She was convicted in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case that was launched by Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy (now member of Bharatiya Janata Party) on 20 August 1996 on the basis of Income Tax Department report on her. Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi, her nephew and the chief minister's disowned foster son Sudhakaran were also convicted. They were sentenced to four years in jail and fined Rs 10 crores each. Special Judge John Michael D'Cunha convicted her to owning assets to the tune of Rs 66.65 crores (which includes 2,000 acres of land, 30 kg of gold and 12,000 saris) disproportionate to her known sources of income during 1991-96 when she was chief minister for the first time. The verdict was delivered at a makeshift court in the Parappana Agrahara prison complex in the presence of Jayalalithaa and the other accused. She has automatically been disqualified from the post of CM and legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu and is the first Indian chief minister to be disqualified. O. Panneerselvam, a minister in her party, was succeeded as the Chief Minister on 29 September 2014. On 17 October 2014, Supreme Court granted two months bail and suspended her sentence in Disproportionate Assets Case.They have to appeal the petition on or before 18 December 2014. On May 11, 2015, a special Bench of the Karnataka High Court set aside the trial court order convicting former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and acquitted of all charges in the disproportionate assets case.

Karnataka HC acquits

Justice C.R.Kumaraswamy of the Karnataka HC acquitted Jayalalithaa in disproportionate assets case on 11 May 2015 stating that the appeal of Ms. Jayalalithaa have been allowed and was being acquitted of all charges. The judge also acquitted her associates - Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi, her nephew and the chief minister's disowned foster son Sudhakaran. Now, her acquittal by the Karnataka high court means she can assume the chief minister's post. It is an important milestone in Jayalalithaa's political career as this verdict decides her career. Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has issued a statement saying truth and justice has prevailed. Thanking God and the people of Tamil Nadu, Ms. Jayalalithaa said that the case was a conspiracy by DMK to destroy AIADMK.

Return as Chief Minister, 2015

On 23 May 2015, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the 5th time after Karnataka High Court acquitted her from disproportionate case on 11 May 2015. She was subsequently re-elected by the electorate of the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar (State Assembly Constituency) of North Chennai in the by-election held on 27 June 2015. In a landslide victory, she polled more than 88% votes of the 74.4% turnout, winning by a margin of over 1.6 lakh votes.

Elected as Chief Minister in 2016

She was again elected as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 2016 Elections on May 19, 2016, with a huge margin of 39545 votes by which retained RK Nagar constituency after defeating DMK rival. Jayalalitha became the second Chief minister after Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran (Dr. MGR) to be elected as CM consecutively twice. In her victory speech, she commented on 19 May 2016, "Even when 10 parties allied themselves against me, I did not have a coalition and I placed my faith in God and built an alliance with the people. It is clear that the people have faith in me and I have total faith in the people"

Legislative career

Elections contested

Year	Constituency	Result	Vote percentage	Opposition Candidate	Opposition Party	Opposition vote percentage
1989	Bodinayakkanur	Won	54.51	Muthumanokaran	DMK	27.27
1991	Bargur, Kangayam	Won	69.3	T. Rajendar	TMK	29.34
1996	Bargur	Lost	43.54	E. G. Sugavanam	DMK	50.71
2001	Andipatti, Krishnagiri, Bhuvanagiri, Pudukkottai	Nomination rejected
2002	Andipatti	Won	58.22	Vaigai Sekar	DMK	27.64
2006	Andipatti	Won	55.04	Seeman	DMK	36.29
2011	Srirangam	Won	58.99	N Anand	DMK	35.55
2015	R.K. Nagar	Won	88.43	C Mahendran	CPI	5.35
2016	R.K. Nagar	Won	55.87	Simla Muthucholan	DMK	33.14

Honours

In 1972 Jayalalithaa was awarded the Kalaimamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

She has received several honorary doctorates and other honours, beginning with an award from the University of Madras in 1991.

External links

• Biography at Assembly.tn.gov.in
• Profile at BBC News
• J. Jayalalithaa collected news and commentary at The Times of India
• Jayalalithaa: From Alluring Actress to Powerful Politician-by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
• BBC News article – Jayalalitha returns to power (dated 2 March 2002)
• BBC – Controversial life of Jayalalitha
• BBC Hardtalk RealPlayer video of Jayalalitha (RealPlayer required)
• J.Jayalalitha at the Internet Movie Database

Political offices
Preceded by Karunanidhi	Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu First Tenure 24 June 1991–12 May 1996	Succeeded by Karunanidhi
	Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Second Tenure 14 May 2001–16 September 2001	Succeeded by O. Panneerselvam
Preceded by O. Panneerselvam	Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Third Tenure 2 March 2003–12 May 2006	Succeeded by Karunanidhi
Preceded by Karunanidhi	Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Fourth Tenure 16 May 2011–27 September 2014	Succeeded by O. Panneerselvam
Preceded by O. Panneerselvam	Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Fifth Tenure 23 May 2015–present	Incumbent