The rise of federalism as the rallying cry for regional satraps to assert themselves has coincided with the ascendance of strong women chief ministers. Not just West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, but AIADMK’s J Jayalalithaa, too, is exerting her clout. In the absence of Banerjee at the chief ministers’ conference in Delhi on Monday, it was the Tamil Nadu chief minister who grabbed the limelight. In fact, Gujarat CM and BJP stalwart Narendra Modi made a beeline for Tamil Nadu Bhavan where Jayalalithaa was holding court as did Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
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