Twitter overflowed with condolence messages soon after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s death was announced at 11.30 p.m on Monday and the topic continued to trend.
Twitter handles #RIPAmma, #RIPJayalalithaa, #IRONLADY and #PurachiThalaivi began to trend, as hundreds of twitteratis mourned. Tweets that described her as a bold and brilliant lioness, an iron lady and a warrior filled the pages. One tweet said: ‘You were really an inspiration for a lot of women. Deeply saddened by her demise. #jayalalithaa #PuratchiThalaivi’
It was not just Jayalalithaa loyalists and her admirers who paid respects, many Union Ministers, politicians and actors took to twitter to offer their condolences. This includes Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam party secretary Vijayakanth, Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam party treasurer MK Stalin and actors Rajinikanth and Ajith.
Stalin’s tweet said: ‘Deeply saddened by the demise of our CM Selvi Jayalalithaa. My deepest condolences to the party cadres & well wishers in this hour of grief. She was an iconic & courageous leader. This is an irreparable loss to the people of TamilNadu.#IRONLADY #RIP’. Indian National Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi too paid his respect through his tweet and later in person.
Rajinikanth’s tweet said it was not just Tamil Nadu but also India that lost a revolutionary leader. Actor Kamal Hassan, who is in the US for movie shooting, conveyed his condolences in a very short tweet.
Bollywood mourns Mourning was not restricted to Tamil Nadu. Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan too tweeted as the news of her demise spread. Amitabh Bachchan twitter handle @SrBachchan said: ‘Deeply grieved at the passing of Jayalalita ji, a strong woman.’ Shah Rukh Khan’s twitter handle @iamsrk stated: ‘Sad to hear of the passing away of Jayalalithaa ji. May her soul rest in peace.’
Throughout the day, many shared images of Jayalalithaa from the time she was a child star in Tamil cinema till 2016 elections. People shared her iconic moments like her pictures of her during funeral of former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran. Many veteran journalists shared their experiences on interacting with Jayalalithaa in Facebook throughout her political career.
Narratives of the last procession of Jayalalithaa too was continuously updated in twitter, from Rajaji Hall to Marina Beach. Messages continued to pour throughout the day for Jayalalithaa, who has been trending in social media — Twitter and Facebook, for two days straight.