December a fateful month for Tamil Nadu?

Chennai: December seems to be jinxed for Tamil Nadu as it witnessed yet another major loss in the form of death of AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa after that of her mentor M G Ramachandran, besides natural calamities of tsunami and floods. While AIADMK founder and charismatic actor-turned-politician MGR died on December 24, 1987, his protege Jayalalithaa breathed her last today (December 5), leaving a striking similarity. Both leaders had also gone through prolonged period of illness before their end came. Nature too had played havoc with citizens of the state in the last month of the year. The killer tsunami of 2004 struck on December 26, while the torrential unprecedented downpour in December 2015 left a scar in the minds of many harried citizens of Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Tiruvallore and Thoothukudi. Cries of 'Amma, Amma' from hundreds of AIADMK supporters rent the air outside Apollo Hospitals where J Jayalalithaa breathed her last after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. Chest-thumping and wailing, men and women could not come to terms that their beloved leader was no more as the ambulance carrying the late Chief Minister left the hospital to her Poes Garden residence Meanwhile, two hours after the announcement of her death, in a swift political transition, her loyalist O Panneerselvam was sworn in as Chief Minister at a sombre ceremony at the Raj Bhawan along with all the ministers in the erstwhile Jayalalithaa Cabinet. Since Sept 22 Jayalalithaa is hospitalised: The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital for treatment of fever and dehydration on September 22. The doctors later said she needed a longer hospital stay as she was suffering from infection, and put her on respiratory support. About Jayalalithaa: Jayalalithaa Jayaraman, commonly referred to as Amma by members in her party is the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in office since 2015. Previously she served as the CM from 1991 to 1996, in 2001, from 2002 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2014. Before her entry into politics, she was an actress and appeared in 140 films which include Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films. On 27 September 2014, Jayalalithaa became the first incumbent chief minister in India to be disqualified from holding office due to conviction in a disproportionate assets case.