Death of Charismatic Indian Minister Leaves Political Vacuum
December 06 2016 - 2:50AM
Dow Jones News
NEW DELHI—The death of the leader of Tamil Nadu state, a former
actress revered by many as Amma, or mother, heralds a period of
uncertainty for foreign investors and a potential political opening
for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Chief minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa, whose fervent following
during a 35-year career in politics was matched by few other Indian
politicians, died late Monday at age 68, after a long illness.
A close aide was quickly sworn in to succeed her, but he lacks
her mass appeal in a political landscape built around personality
cults. That could spell a bumpy transition and reshape politics in
the southern state of 70 million people, where major auto companies
including Ford Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. have offices.
If her party "doesn't manage the succession well, it could open
up the field to other parties," said E. Sridharan, academic
director of the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for the
Advanced Study of India in New Delhi. Mr. Modi's Bharatiya Janata
Party "and others are among them."
Ms. Jayalalithaa's All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
party emerged as the second-largest national opposition force in
the 2014 elections, narrowly trailing the Congress party, on the
strength of the Tamil Nadu vote.
It remains a regional party, however, trading power with a
regional rival.
Mr. Modi's BJP, meanwhile, has been seeking to spread its
influence outside its traditional strongholds as it emerges as
India's dominant political force. It hasn't had much electoral
success in Tamil Nadu, but might sense an opportunity in the vacuum
left behind.
"Her demise has left a huge void in Indian politics," Mr. Modi
tweeted.
A minister in her government, O. Panneerselvam, was sworn in
early Tuesday as chief minister. Although her term runs until 2021,
the party could replace him before then, but it lacks a clear,
charismatic successor. Ms. Jayalalithaa hadn't groomed anyone.
Any political instability or government paralysis is likely to
worry the foreign investors that Ms. Jayalalithaa attracted through
high-profile events showcasing her long-term economic agenda, which
included multi-billion dollar infrastructure investments and
power-generation projects.
The daughter of an actress in Tamil-language films, Ms.
Jayalalithaa's first career was in show business. She was featured
in more than 100 movies before turning to politics in the 1980s,
serving as chief minister of her state four times.
She governed her party with absolute authority; it referred to
her as the "Iron Lady of India" in a late-night tweet announcing
her death.
Her popularity was undiminished by corruption investigations and
a short imprisonment in 2014, after she was convicted on charges
that she had amassed wealth well beyond her known sources of
income. Local newspapers and her party at the time reported
suicides and self-immolations by devastated fans.
The verdict was reversed by an appeals court and she returned as
chief minister last year, leading supporters to celebrate by
pouring milk on giant posters of her—a Hindu ritual usually
reserved for deities.
Her government serves hundreds of thousands of subsidized meals
each day at "Amma canteens" and offers discounts on medicine at
"Amma pharmacies." She distributed free laptops, blenders and even
goats to the poor.
Police were deployed Tuesday to guard against the kind of
widespread violence and suicides that followed the passing in 1987
of her mentor, Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran, himself an
actor-turned-chief minister.
When her body arrived at her home in the state capital of
Chennai overnight, hundreds of wailing and grieving supporters
jostled and clashed with police, knocking down barricades.
Write to Niharika Mandhana at niharika.mandhana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 06, 2016 02:35 ET (07:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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