Their fashion choices are lampooned by those who do not understand them, but for India’s foremost politicians, personal style is more than image—it is armour, says Pramod Kumar KG
Since independence, India has had a female president and a prime minister, besides over 16 women chief ministers and several others appointed as governors. Surprisingly, most conversations are still limited to the elegant choices of the Gandhi ladies, who continue to favour khadi and handloom textiles. However, there are three other ladies who have dominated the political space in contemporary India, and they have fashioned themselves in entirely different moulds. Their choice of garments, colours and silhouettes are all careful constructs that subliminally inform and help maintain curated auras. It is therefore astonishing that most commentary in popular culture seems to be centred around lampooning the handbag that Mayawati is always seen with, the Dhaniakhali cotton sari and rubber flip-flops that Mamata Banerjee prefers, or the cape-like fabric that the late Jayalalithaa adopted.
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