The XX factor: Women now make or mar a party's electoral fortunes

In the recent past, several political leaders, from Prime Minister Nar­endra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Madhya Prad­esh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Cho­uhan, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have tal­ked up their women-centric schemes. The governments they or their parties lead have indeed implemented schemes with women as primary beneficiaries, but they are no trailblazers.

The trailblazer’s crown sits firmly on the head of J Jayalalithaa, widely recognised in Tamil Nadu as the mother of welfare schemes. During her first stint as the Tamil Nadu chief minister from 1991 to 1996, the only woman chief minister