J Jayalalithaa towered over Tamil Nadu politics, leading the state for several years and ruling over one of the biggest regional parties in India with an iron fist. But the leader whose political clout spread far beyond the state hardly spent time in Delhi to fuel national ambitions.
However, whenever she was in the national capital, she left her mark.
The six-time chief minister had always kept her adversaries—and even friends—guessing about her next move.
Jayalalithaa enjoyed an excellent rapport with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. But in 1988, she said Sonia Gandhi would be a “national tragedy” as a PM candidate. A year later, Jayalalithaa attended the now-famous tea party organised by Subramanian Swamy and sat next to Sonia Gandhi, describing her as an “old friend”.
