What is brand 'Amma Politics'

Women and poor--the two groups--who till date have been her biggest beneficiaries--will miss her the most.

Chennai, Dec 6: Jayalalithaa's death is a loss for everybody as she created her own brand 'Amma politics' that connects to poor--this is how Union Minister Prakash Javadekar summed up the political contributions of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, who has passed away on Monday.

The demise of the 68-year-old AIADMK supremo has been termed as a big loss for the entire nation by everyone.

However, women and poor--the two groups--who till date have been her biggest beneficiaries--will miss her the most.

Jayalalithaa's social welfare schemes and projects--Amma Canteens, All Women Police stations and New Veeranam scheme, to name a few--targeted mostly women and downtrodden sections of society.

Political observers say the reason behind the success of Jayalalithaa's political career, in spite of being allegedly involved in several corruption cases, is her reputation as a "mother" who cares for her poor and deprived children.

Her vote bank mostly consisted of rural and urban poor and women, who thronged the Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, when the news of her cardiac arrest broke out on Sunday evening.

Her detractors allege that Jayalalithaa's welfare schemes are nothing, but freebies doled out to win votes during elections.

However, her supporters say that for them she was their mother, who looked after them very well.

As they mourn the death of their "beloved" Amma, it has to be seen if her political successor and just sworn in Chief Minister O Panneerselvam will continue with her pro-poor and pro-women measures.

OneIndia News