P. Jayalalithaa, A One-Woman Roadshow

Confident of winning a second term and unchallenged within the AIADMK, Jayalalithaa is a one-woman roadshow

- Amarnath K. Menon

On May 1, at her 10th election rally in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa shifted the campaign into top gear. She tore into arch-rival and DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, accusing him of launching schemes that benefit only his party leaders, read, his family. “In 2006, the DMK gave television sets worth Rs 2,000 each but collected Rs 3,000 for a cable connection from each household,”she said at a massive rally at the Codissia grounds. “With this itself, the DMK leaders have made Rs 25,000 crore. They may make promises to gain power but will implement them only if Karunanidhi or his family benefit from it.” She offers nothing, of course, to back her claims.

It’s the first time since 1967 that a leader of the AIADMK or DMK is going it alone in almost all 234 constituencies (it had 150 MLAs in the outgoing assembly), having given away just seven seats to allies, who will also contest on the AIADMK’s ‘Two Leaves’ symbol. It is a most widely recognised symbol, associated with party founder M.G. Ramachandran and his legacy. “This symbol is the lifeline of her electoral strategy and fortune without which, even the AIADMK, including Jayalalithaa, would be uncertain of victory in tens of constituencies,” says Ramu Manivannan, professor, department of political science and public administration, Madras University.