The late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa would perhaps remain amongst the best Prime Ministers India never had. She was a lady of expansive vision, extraordinary political acumen, a sharp intellect and a well-thought through world view, qualities which are pre-requisites for any person who should be occupying the august office of the head of a government. She had become a living legend in her own life time so far as her state was concerned and had attainted many impossible feats during her travel to the top. In the process, she had faced most difficult situations, including the one in 1989 when she was nearly killed by her adversaries inside the Tamil Nadu Assembly and consequently took an oath to return to the precincts only in the capacity of Chief Minister. With sheer determination and hard work, she did fulfil her resolve and rose to become the most charismatic political figure in Tamil Nadu.
What was extremely noteworthy was that Jayalalithaa undertook her political journey solely with her own grit. Unlike top political figures in the sub-continent such as Sirimavo Bandernaike, Indira Gandhi, Khaleda Zia, Benazir Bhutto, Chandrika Kumaratunga and Sheikh Hasina, she made it by herself—being not a top politician’s wife or daughter. Her accomplishment was unique since she reached the summit due to her own efforts through hit and trial methods. She had total clarity on various issues and this was reflected in the myriad interviews she gave to various TV channels.
The irrepressible Arnab Goswami was at his best behaviour when he had interacted with the Iron lady from the South. It was evident from the beginning as to who was in control of the session and Arnab listened to her as if his knuckles were rapped by a headmistress, this in sharp contrast to how he would slaughter most of his subjects. The aggressive Karan Thapar also tasted Jaya’s toughness when she put him on the mat during their much talked about interview. She was most forthcoming in her tete-e-tete with celluloid celebrity Simi Garewal and was candid while answering several uncomfortable questions. She for the first time also admitted that she as a young girl had a crush on former Indian cricket captain Nari Contractor and cine super star Shammi Kapoor, whose path-breaking film, Junglee remained one of her favourites. Those who watched Simi’s show were fortunate to hear Jayalalithaa sing a few lines of the Lata-Manna Dey evergreen song “Aaja sanam madhur chandni mein hum…” composed by Shankar Jaikishen in the Raj Kapoor-Nargis starrer Chori Chori.
For someone who had never met Jayalalithaa, but had watched her grow politically over the years, she came across as an extremely well informed person who was following very closely various events unfolding in different parts of the world. In her interviews, she provided a perspective on several issues and both her astuteness and sensitivity were reflected in clear terms. Behind a tough exterior there was a person who had gone to Hell and back but, had managed to survive on account of her strong will power and sheer determination to succeed.
There are not too many top ranking politicians who can answer any question without taking the help of aides. Indira Gandhi, by virtue of her vast experience and association with leading personalities of her time, did not need any prompting while replying to queries on an array of subjects. The same was true of L.K. Advani and the late former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar. Advani and Chandrashekhar were conversant with all major issues and could give a well regarded view on any subject.
There were others like Atal Behari Vajpayee, who, because of their long stint in politics could parry questions to which they had no answers, or P.V. Narasimha Rao for whom silence said it all. Rajiv Gandhi did impress at times, but he was diligently coached by his advisers such as Makhan Lal Fotedar on matters of the state. H.D. Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral never got a real chance since they were Prime Ministers by fluke. Vishwanath Pratap Singh survived through deception rather than knowledge of statecraft. Manmohan Singh’s reluctance to speak was due to the many rattling skeletons in his government’s cupboard.
In fact there have been numerous claimants to the Prime Minister’s job, but not all of them possessed the qualities which are needed for running a country as diverse as ours. The late Ramakrishna Hegde had the potential and the capacity to provide direction to one and all from the power centre, New Delhi. He, however, became a victim of politicking within his own party and could never make it to the Prime Minister’s chair despite leading his own state for several years. Jyoti Basu would have easily become the head of the Central government had it not been for the obstacles put in his path by his own colleague Prakash Karat. Sharad Pawar would have occupied the top position had it not been for both his diffidence in tackling important matters on time besides the bad luck factor. It is somewhat premature to judge Narendra Modi who came to power riding on a very strong anti Congress wave and not to brush aside his robust and well executed campaign during the run up to the 2014 polls.
Jayalalithaa was certainly amongst the highly regarded political figures of India, but could have realised her full potential if she had got a chance to lead the country. She was an immensely tall mass leader and her name will be prominently etched in the modern history of our land. Between us.