Though Tamil Nadu is witnessing the arrival of superstars like Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth on the political horizon, the state will always miss one of its most charismatic Chief Ministers-- J Jayalalithaa-- whose 70th birth anniversary is set to be celebrated on February 24.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi would participate in an event to launch ‘Amma Scooter Scheme’ in Chennai, developed by the Tamil Nadu government and a part of the AIADMK manifesto.
The ruling AIADMK is scheduled to launch its official mouthpiece on the anniversary of its revered leader. A life-sized statue of Jayalalithaa will also be installed at the party headquarters.
The statue will be placed near that of party founder, late Chief Minister M G Ramachandran, known as MGR.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister passed away in Chennai on December 5 in the year 2016, a day after she suffered a cardiac arrest. Fondly addressed as 'Amma', she had been hospitalised since September 22 after fever and dehydration. She was later treated for sepsis and her condition was believed to have improved before she went into cardiac arrest.
The mystery of her death remains even after a year has passed on.
Here is an insight into the life and political journey of Jayalalithaa:
Who was Jayalalithaa?
# Jayalalitha Jayaram was born in Mysore at a place called Melukote on February 24, 1948.
# She hails from a Tamil Iyengar family.
# Her father Jayaram, a lawyer by profession, passed away when she was two years old.
# Later, Jayalalithaa and her brother Jayakumar shifted to Bengaluru along with their mother. Her mother, Vedavathi, started working in Tamil cinema with the screen name Sandhya.
# Jayalalithaa completed her schooling from Bishop Cotton Girls' High School, Chennai, and Sacred Heart Matriculation School.
# She was a trained Bharatanatyam dancer with proficiency in other dance forms like Kathak, Mohiniyattam and Manipuri.
# She had also lent her voice as a singer in some of her films.
# Jayalalithaa had language proficiency in English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam.
# She was a good student and received scholarship for higher studies from the Government of India after completing her matriculation in 1964.
# However, she took up films of different languages shortly after that.
# Jayalalithaa was a famous South Indian film star before she joined politics in 1982.
# In 1982, Jayalalithaa became a member of the AIADMK, a party founded by MG Ramachandran.
# Her supporters fondly call her "Amma", meaning mother, and "Puratchi Thalaivi", meaning revolutionary leader.
# Jayalalithaa was elected for the first time as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1984 and she retained the seat till 1989.
# A landslide victory was secured by Jayalalithaa in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections held in 1991, when the party and its alliance won 225 out of the total 234 seats. She contested from two constituencies, Kangeyam and Bargur, and won both the seats comprehensively.
# On 24 June 1991, she became the youngest ever and the second female Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She held the position till May 12, 1996.
# On 14 May 2001, Jayalalithaa became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the second time and held the post till September 21, 2001.
# She remained the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from March 2, 2002 to May 12, 2006.
# Jayalalithaa had to step down from her post of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in September 2014 when a trial court in Karnataka held her guilty in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets (amounting to Rs. 66.65 crore) and corruption case.
# On May 11, 2015, the Karnataka High Court acquitted Jayalalithaa in the Disproportionate Assets case.
# J Jayalalitha was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for a record-equalling fifth time on May 23, 2015.
# She became the first chief minister since 1989 to return to power for a second consecutive term, creating a history of sorts.
# She took oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for a record sixth time on May 23, 2016.
