In Tamil Nadu Jayaram Jayalalitha, a former actress, wowed voters with promises of free rice and other goodies.

ECONOMIST: India's state politics

AIADMK's leader, Jayalalitha Jayaram, is a controversial former actress who has threatened such action before only to withdraw after winning concessions.

ECONOMIST: India

Credit Suisse analysts Arun Jayaram and Eduardo Royes say the asset acquisition that HERO announced earlier this month was a smart one.

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They include three women: Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Jayaram Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu and Mayawati, a Dalit (the lowest caste) who ruled UP until earlier this year.

ECONOMIST: Politics

Meanwhile, Jayaram Shetty is living a nightmare without end.

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Signalling a break with the state's history of tolerant secularism, the move has been widely seen as an attempt by the chief minister, Jayalalitha Jayaram, to strengthen her ties with India's ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has long advocated a ban on religious conversions.

ECONOMIST: Tamil Nadu bans forced conversions