When asked on polling day what her next move was, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa said she preferred to wait three more days, till May 16, when results of the Lok Sabha election were to be declared. She did move, but to her estate in Kodanadu near Ooty. The ticket to Delhi was taken, by DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. It’s been four months now, but that “exile” is yet to end.

On the contrary, as the AIADMK supremo remains far from public sight, in an estate, the insides of which only a few have seen, successive elections show her party is also slipping from public mind. And at a time when even the Congress is fancying its chances in Tamil Nadu on the strength of Rahul Gandhi’s encouraging words and a whirlwind trip.

It was on May 30 that she flew to the Kodanadu estate, an over 800-acre property owned by Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala. Her ‘vacation’, otherwise a periodical trip, this time was termed an exile from active politics.

A sprawling property with a huge building reportedly constructed as per vaastu, the estate is open only to a chosen few. In fact, there was a controversy some time ago over restriction on the movement of local villagers through it. The last time public (and local DMK men) went in was two years ago when the district administration broke open its locks to inspect the building, which allegedly violated norms.

While she was ensconced there, Jayalalithaa called for boycott of Assembly bypolls, appealing to the public to follow suit. With allies PMK and MDMK on board, she calculated a significant fall in polling percentage. However, again the AIADMK read the situation wrong, losing both the cause and precious political space. With the Communists refusing to toe her unilateral decision, the DMDK gained from the AIADMK absence while the DMK-Congress alliance wafted home comfortably. In a party like the AIADMK where there is no number two, or even a three or four, her absence from the state capital is being felt even as the party gives numerous calls for mass protests. Political observers, in fact, see it as one of the leanest times of the party, accentuated by the longest “break” Jayalalithaa has taken.

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