Sun sets and flowers bloom

The sun has set in Tamil Nadu and the twin flowers bloomed in West Bengal. Both made possible by two women, high on whims and tantrums. But the similarity ends there. One is a political widow (well almost), groomed to perfection by her mentor, former Tamil Nadu chief minister M.G. Ramachandran; while the other is a rebel who rose from playing street politics, unnerving the urban, elite Calcuttans, and rode roughshod into the rural red fort of Bengal.
One has had two stints as chief minister; she has a polished demeanour with a ruthless streak; while the other has to test her skill as an administrator, but has a raw appeal. One oscillates between her castles in high-profile addresses of Kodai and Chennai, and is most certainly inaccessible; the other lives in her only address: a humble home in a middle class south Calcutta locality. One is revered, worshipped, and feared. The other is admired and even loved for being the lone face of change in the 34-year-old red bastion. While one had power handed to her on a platter by her political mentor and co-star of zillion films, MGR, the other fought her way to power from the streets of Calcutta to the lush agricultural fields of rural Bengal, with no one behind her but herself and her rebellious streak. One has faced charges of corruption, having dipped her rather large hand into the state treasury’s luscious pie; the other is fiercely honest. One is Amma, and the other is Didi. That’s Jayalaitha and Mamata for us, who are set to rule the states of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively. Will they deliver?
Jayalalitha will have the state machinery and her own experience to count on. Besides, she has to simply restructure the industrial map of Tamil Nadu to attract investments and take the state forward.
But for Mamata, she has to remove the bright red hue of the state machinery, which it must have acquired after having been associated with the Left for 34 years. Then she will have to begin her green campaign. The balance of agricultural-industrial development is delicate in the state, especially after the Left’s Singur and Nandigram experiments. The corporates sense an unfavourable investment climate in the state. Moreover, she has to handle the Gorkha issue that comes to a boil one in a while.
Didi’s crown of thorns will make it uneasy for her. Amma, on the other hand, got her diamond-studded crown on a platter from the polity, frustrated with the scam-tainted DMK government. While one worked very hard for her crown, almost living off the kutcha and pucca streets of Bengal; the other won it rather easily without having to work too hard for it. The DMK First Family made it easy for her to get it.
Hail democracy.