India Votes: Behind every leader...

By Vrushali Menon

.....Is A Woman Who Is Quietly Steering The Course of Poll Strategy

They play a powerful and key role in charting the future course of political parties in the state — but entirely from behind the scenes. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, four women have emerged crucial power brokers, quietly guiding alliance talks and giving that vital nudge that could help make political history in Tamil Nadu.

Chief minister M Karunanidhi’s wife, Rajathi Ammal, was part of the hectic negotiations to try and rope in a difficult PMK. The much-in-demand actor Vijayakanth played his cards close to his chest, but was guided by wife Premalatha, whose influence was evident in one of the key demands of the party — the high profile Coimbatore seat for the DMDK’s silent steerer. Settled in Delhi after her husband succeeded in getting the hefty health portfolio, Sowmya Anbumani is now used to rubbing shoulders with the powersthat-be in the capital. So, the PMK’s wish-list to the Congress included two Rajya Sabha seats — one for Anbumani Ramadoss and the other for Sowmya.

Last, but not the least in terms of the clout she wields, is Sasikala Natarajan. While the ‘chinna amma’ (junior amma) left it to AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa to cobble together what could prove to be a winning combination in the state, she will be an active participant in dishing out constituencies. Besides wielding strong influence in the Poes Garden household, Sasikala is the back-seat driver when it comes to handling party affairs. This time too the AIADMK’s list of candidates will be a line-up of her own loyalists and foot soldiers.

In the thick of alliance negotiations, when DMK and AIADMK were making a pitch to lure reluctant allies, Rajathi Ammal had, with her husband’s approval, opened her own communication channel from her plush CIT colony residence to pull the PMK back into the DMKCongress combine.

“Amma was negotiating with doctor aiyya (PMK leader S Ramadoss) through a industrialist friend. Things were going smoothly until a section in the party bungled it,” said a close family friend. It’s a different matter that PMK might have flown the coop and taken shelter in a rival camp, but Rajathi Ammal has proved that her capabilities extend beyond that of a trouble-shooter for senior party leaders.

In PMK, Sowmya Anbumani is the driving force behind ‘Pasumai Thayagam’ (Green Motherland), an environment organisation backed by the party. But her ambitions now stretch beyond merely ushering in the green revolution. “If a Rajya Sabha seat is difficult then Sowmya is likely to get a LS ticket so that she could be a part of the power dispensation at the centre,” said a well-wisher.

There are few decisions that actor Vijayakanth takes without consulting his wife, Premalatha. Self-effacing but confident, Premalatha has ensured that every crucial decision regarding DMDK is taken only after consultations with her and her brother, LK Sudheesh, the party’s youth wing secretary. Even in the pre-Independence era, the Dravidian movement has seen far-sighted, progressive leaders like Periyar espousing the women’s cause and demanding equal rights for them. But today, it is a different kind of power that women behind high-profile political leaders in Tamil Nadu are wielding.