Jayaram Jayalalithaa, Indian actress turned politician, 68
CHENNAI, India — Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the hugely popular south Indian actress who later turned to politics and became the highest elected official in the state of Tamil Nadu, died yesterday. She was 68.
The Apollo Hospital in the southern Indian city of Chennai said Ms. Jayalalithaa died at 11:30 p.m. local time yesterday after undergoing surgery following a heart attack on Sunday night.
Known by her followers as “Amma,” which means “Mother” in the Tamil language, Ms. Jayalalithaa inspired intense loyalty among film fans and political supporters alike.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply saddened” by Jayalalithaa’s death. “Her demise has left a huge void in Indian politics,” Modi tweeted.
In the first half of 2014, Jayalalithaa made a bid to become India’s prime minister by saying she would form a coalition in New Delhi if no party dominated elections. But the Bharatiya Janata Party won a clear majority, catapulting Modi into the nation’s top job.
Later that year, she was forced to step down as chief minister in Tamil Nadu state when she was sentenced to four years in prison for amassing more than $10 million during her political career, a wealth the court said was disproportionate to her income.
She spent 21 days behind bars before the Indian Supreme Court released her on bail.
Her lawyer father, also named Jayaram, died when she was 2, prompting her mother to learn shorthand and typing so she could work in a clerical position to support the family and put Jayalalithaa and her brother through school. Her brother died in the early 1990s.