J. Jayalalithaa

A criminal conviction forced her from office in 2014. Less than two years later, she won a second straight term — a feat no Tamil Nadu leader had managed since MGR.

J. Jayalalithaa, six-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

📑 Contents

1Timeline
2Screen Star to Six-Time Chief Minister
3The Case That Sent Her From Office and Back
4Test Yourself
5A Record, and What the Supreme Court Actually Ruled

Timeline

24 February 1948: Born in Melukote, Mandya district, then in Mysore State (now Karnataka).
1961-1980: Builds a film career spanning around 140 films, in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.
1982: Joins the AIADMK, then led by Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran (MGR).
1984-1989: Serves as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament.
9 February 1989: Becomes AIADMK’s leader (supremo) of the reunited party, after MGR’s death in 1987 had split it into two factions.
24 June 1991 to 12 May 1996: Serves her first term as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
14 May 2001 to 21 September 2001: Serves a second term, cut short when the Supreme Court disqualifies her over pending criminal cases.
2 March 2002 to 12 May 2006: Serves a third term.
16 May 2011 to 27 September 2014: Serves a fourth term, ended by her conviction in the disproportionate assets case.
23 May 2015 to 22 May 2016: Serves a fifth term, after her Karnataka High Court acquittal.
23 May 2016: Sworn in for a sixth term, after the AIADMK wins the 2016 Assembly election.
5 December 2016: Dies at Apollo Hospital, Chennai, after prolonged hospitalisation.

Screen Star to Six-Time Chief Minister Need to Know

J. Jayalalithaa (1948-2016), popularly called “Amma” (mother), served six terms as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
She was born on 24 February 1948, in Melukote, then in Mysore State.
Before politics, she was a leading Tamil film star, acting in around 140 films across three languages.
She joined the AIADMK in 1982, under M.G. Ramachandran, and led the reunited party herself from February 1989.
She was first sworn in as Chief Minister on 24 June 1991. She went on to serve over 14 years in office, across six non-consecutive terms.
She died in office on 5 December 2016, during her sixth term, at Apollo Hospital, Chennai.

The Case That Sent Her From Office and Back Good to Know

She acted opposite M.G. Ramachandran in 28 films, from 1965 to 1973, before entering politics under him. See ModHist0259 — M.G. Ramachandran (MGR).
She topped Tamil Nadu’s state-level 10th-standard exam, and won a government scholarship, before turning to films instead of law.
In 2014, she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case, sentenced to four years, and spent 22 days in jail before Supreme Court bail.
The Karnataka High Court acquitted her of all charges on 11 May 2015, clearing her return to office.
Her government ran the “Amma canteens,” subsidised eateries that served millions of low-cost meals across Tamil Nadu.
Her welfare schemes also included subsidised salt, cement, and mineral water, sold under the “Amma” brand.

Test Yourself

A Record, and What the Supreme Court Actually Ruled Great to Know

Her 2016 re-election made her only the second Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, after MGR, to win a second consecutive term.
She was Tamil Nadu’s longest-serving woman Chief Minister, with over 14 years in office across six terms. M. Karunanidhi still holds the state’s overall tenure record, at over 18 years across five terms.
Her main political rival for decades was M. Karunanidhi, the DMK leader, in Tamil Nadu’s long-running AIADMK-DMK rivalry. See ModHist0253 — M. Karunanidhi.
On 14 February 2017, the Supreme Court restored the trial court’s 2014 conviction against her co-accused, chiefly V.K. Sasikala. The case against Jayalalithaa herself had already lapsed on her death, under the rule that criminal proceedings end when the accused dies.
Her official cause of death was cardiac arrest. The circumstances of her 75-day hospitalisation drew an official state inquiry, and remain a subject of continuing public debate.
Her death triggered a wave of public grief across Tamil Nadu, with mass mourning reported across the state.

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