Probably the woman with the most successful political career, Jayalalithaa has been the chief minister of Tamil Nadu three times. One of the most influential female leaders in the country today, she started her political career in 1984, supported by M.G. Ramachandran, and became the CM of Tamil Nadu in 1991 after the assassination of the alliance party leader Rajiv Gandhi gave her a sympathy boost in the polls. Since then, she has held the seat for two more times, once losing out to DMK in 1996. In 2001, she became the CM for less than six months because of being convicted in some criminal acts. However, after being cleared of the charges, she resumed her post in March 2002. She was again elected as the CM in 2011, a seat she holds till date.