On December 6, 2016, AIADMK’s charismatic leader J Jayalalithaa, fondly referred to as ‘Amma’ by her supporters, was laid to rest next to her political mentor and party founder M G Ramachandran on Marina Beach. Back then, the public and political analysts opined that the ruling party had lost a leader but two years down the line, AIADMK old-timers admit that they have not only lost their leader, but also the party’s character.

“The no-fear approach adopted for elections and the capacity to go solo has been the character of the AIADMK led by its past leaders including Jayalalithaa and MGR. Let it be Lok Sabha or local body polls, Jayalalithaa had always dared the national and state parties to contest alone in Tamil Nadu,” recalls an AIADMK senior, adding that those who entered an alliance with his party played the poll game as per Amma’s rulebook.

Post her demise, however, a new set of leaders have emerged in the party and the rebel AMMK but none of the leaders are ready to face the forthcoming general elections alone. Both CM Edappadi K Palaniswami and rebel leader TTV Dhinakaran have expressed in public that they are ready for alliances.

“In 2012, when the relationship between the DMDK and the AIADMK was simmering Amma dared all the opposition parties to fight the Sankarankoil bypolls alone. When she declared this during an assembly session, there was no reply from both the DMK and the DMDK,” recalls an AIADMK MLA, on condition of anonymity.

According to political commentator Sumanth C Raman, Jayalalithaa had a phenomenal self-confidence during polls and it was a defining feature of her. She had a connection with people and was not bothered about the results.

“Despite several parties waiting for an alliance with her party during the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2016 assembly polls, she chose to go alone and defeated every party that opposed the AIADMK. She also lost a few polls while going alone but this was her unique feature. Today no party in TN is in that position and no leadership will try to go alone, he added.

“Jayalalithaa had the daring attitude which others do not have. Further, MGR’s wife Janaki was a reluctant politician who magnanimously gave up a fight, but both EPS and OPS will never want to lose their power. Under such circumstances, the current AIADMK leaders cannot be shrewd like Jayalalithaa, who was the only leader in her party,” observed political analyst Raveendran Duraisamy.

According to Ramu Manivannan, head, department of political science, University of Madras, “Jayalalithaa had a dual character - that of being a powerful leader and a closed politician accessible for the Sasikala family. But she was a politician with tremendous self-belief and a tough attitude.”

“She was the one and only leader who took disciplinary action against the rank and file of the party, but now there are no such leaders. From having a single leadership, the AIADMK has changed a lot,” Manivannan added.

“One unique character of Amma was to take on national parties when they intervene in the state subjects and its rights,” the MLA told DT Next. “The DMK is based on Dravidian policies but our party is a mix of charisma and character. Now both the charisma and the character are missing,” he added.