The Jayalalitha Conviction - RIP the MGR legacy...
#Jayalalithaconviction
i had written earlier in this blog during the parliamentary elections that there were ordinary people in Tamilnadu who continue to vote and will continue to vote for the legacy of MGR and this is what seems to win the elections for AIADMK. even when AIADMK lost power on a couple of occasions post-MGR time, it did so only through a marginal drop in the votes polled is an indication of the MGR loyalty in the state. the MGR legacy ensures who wins elections in the state ever since MGR started a separate political party and continues till date several decades after he is gone.
the conviction of Jayalalitha, seen as the sole heir of MGR legacy since her ascend to the funeral carriage of her mentor has taken a very critical downward dive.
when #Tamilnadu wakes up after the initial emotional outburst with a hangover tomorrow morning, they will wonder what has really transpired and what it implies to their day-to-day life. in tamilnadu, politics has had a surrealist appearance to the population thanks to the film connection over the last several decades - at times touching the lives, at other times leaving it completely unconnected.
people will realize that perhaps J was not the first and only inheritor of the invincible legacy, that there were others. others will remember, as will the media, several misdemeanors of her rule as well as the undignified existence of the dummy CM last time around she had to step down. there will be much speculation as to who will be the dummy CM, there are already some names being circulated, but, regardless of who it is, the cut-off from the direct legacy of MGR is clear and the more alien the person is (the name of an IAS officer is already being paraded) to the political nuance of the state, the more this alienation will be pronounced.
#MGR legacy has many other claimants in the political scene - Vijayakanth is a case, but, he has reduced himself to such low depths since the parliamentary elections, it is a wonder if he will ever make a comeback in the tamilnadu politics. DMK, thanks to being the arch rival, never had a claim in the MGR legacy, now too they dare not make a claim, it will remain their handicap, the only chance of the estranged son, Muthu, emulating MGR was but short lived for #MKarunanidhi. the younger generation actors wannabe politicians, including Sarath Kumar (who already heads and manages a media company as well as a jati party and thereby limited in his ability to move much), Vijay (immature and clearly no political sense) and others are far too limited in capacities to claim the legacy. Yes, there has been renewed talk of Rajnikanth joining politics in Tamilnadu (the original and only legacy that can overshadow the MGR legacy in TN politics), but, this is a PR strategy adopted before each new movie is released for him and since his ailment last year, he has all but disappeared from public view and seems to need much medical attention periodically to even continue in films. anyway, his heydays are over in the film world and such a late entry into politics will be seen as a rather weak one even though there is no question that this may contribute to the ascend of BJP in the state (if he joins that party formally and agrees to contest the assembly elections in 2016 that is).
the legacy suddenly seems to have reached an end, an abrupt one at that.
yes, the battle for J is not over, she will contest the case in Supreme Court, she may find her illnesses limiting her from being imprisoned, she may get a bail, etc., whatever, but, the conviction itself will ensure that she can't be back in position of power for quite some time and at her age, it is a long time to come and even if she does, it will be a rather weak persona from the earlier one and definitely sans the MGR legacy stamp on it.
RIP the legacy, tamilnadu voters may start to now look for other new criteria to evaluate the candidates before they choose to vote. this could be the value shift, loyalty to a great leader (and his legacy claimants) giving way for actual worth of a candidate? time will tell, but, for the moment, the legacy's shadow on TN politics well seems nigh.
i had written earlier in this blog during the parliamentary elections that there were ordinary people in Tamilnadu who continue to vote and will continue to vote for the legacy of MGR and this is what seems to win the elections for AIADMK. even when AIADMK lost power on a couple of occasions post-MGR time, it did so only through a marginal drop in the votes polled is an indication of the MGR loyalty in the state. the MGR legacy ensures who wins elections in the state ever since MGR started a separate political party and continues till date several decades after he is gone.
the conviction of Jayalalitha, seen as the sole heir of MGR legacy since her ascend to the funeral carriage of her mentor has taken a very critical downward dive.
when #Tamilnadu wakes up after the initial emotional outburst with a hangover tomorrow morning, they will wonder what has really transpired and what it implies to their day-to-day life. in tamilnadu, politics has had a surrealist appearance to the population thanks to the film connection over the last several decades - at times touching the lives, at other times leaving it completely unconnected.
people will realize that perhaps J was not the first and only inheritor of the invincible legacy, that there were others. others will remember, as will the media, several misdemeanors of her rule as well as the undignified existence of the dummy CM last time around she had to step down. there will be much speculation as to who will be the dummy CM, there are already some names being circulated, but, regardless of who it is, the cut-off from the direct legacy of MGR is clear and the more alien the person is (the name of an IAS officer is already being paraded) to the political nuance of the state, the more this alienation will be pronounced.
#MGR legacy has many other claimants in the political scene - Vijayakanth is a case, but, he has reduced himself to such low depths since the parliamentary elections, it is a wonder if he will ever make a comeback in the tamilnadu politics. DMK, thanks to being the arch rival, never had a claim in the MGR legacy, now too they dare not make a claim, it will remain their handicap, the only chance of the estranged son, Muthu, emulating MGR was but short lived for #MKarunanidhi. the younger generation actors wannabe politicians, including Sarath Kumar (who already heads and manages a media company as well as a jati party and thereby limited in his ability to move much), Vijay (immature and clearly no political sense) and others are far too limited in capacities to claim the legacy. Yes, there has been renewed talk of Rajnikanth joining politics in Tamilnadu (the original and only legacy that can overshadow the MGR legacy in TN politics), but, this is a PR strategy adopted before each new movie is released for him and since his ailment last year, he has all but disappeared from public view and seems to need much medical attention periodically to even continue in films. anyway, his heydays are over in the film world and such a late entry into politics will be seen as a rather weak one even though there is no question that this may contribute to the ascend of BJP in the state (if he joins that party formally and agrees to contest the assembly elections in 2016 that is).
the legacy suddenly seems to have reached an end, an abrupt one at that.
yes, the battle for J is not over, she will contest the case in Supreme Court, she may find her illnesses limiting her from being imprisoned, she may get a bail, etc., whatever, but, the conviction itself will ensure that she can't be back in position of power for quite some time and at her age, it is a long time to come and even if she does, it will be a rather weak persona from the earlier one and definitely sans the MGR legacy stamp on it.
RIP the legacy, tamilnadu voters may start to now look for other new criteria to evaluate the candidates before they choose to vote. this could be the value shift, loyalty to a great leader (and his legacy claimants) giving way for actual worth of a candidate? time will tell, but, for the moment, the legacy's shadow on TN politics well seems nigh.
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