I am a master in India

Chapter 275 Demigod
“His name is Ron,” Kavia introduced with a smile.

“I know him, Sur.” Jayalalita glanced at the newspaper on the table.

As the Chief Minister of Tamil, she naturally pays close attention to the news figures in the country.

In particular, Kaviya works for The Times of India, and Jayalalita has read every single one of his niece's articles.

She had read many of the reports about Ron, and even secretly had someone investigate him.

However, newspapers are one thing, but meeting in person is quite another.

Jayalalita looked Ron up and down, his gaze less like that of a visiting merchant and more warm.

“Since we’re all family, I’ll call you Ron.” She said directly, without asking anyone’s opinion.

“Hello, Ms. Jayalalita.” Ron clasped his hands together.

“Call me Mother,” Jayalalita interrupted him.

“Uh, Mother.” Ron stepped forward and lightly touched her ankle, a gesture of respect from a junior to an elder.

"Good boy." She smiled with satisfaction and affectionately patted Ron's head.

Kaviya shrugged at him, as if to say: That's just how my aunt is, domineering and autocratic, and no one dares to disagree with her.

"Why did you suddenly come back this time? Don't you want to stay in Mumbai anymore?" Jayalalita held her niece's hand affectionately.

"I miss my aunt," Kavia replied with a grin.

"Smooth talker," Jayalalita said, but his face beamed with joy.

“Ron has never been to Madras, but I told him that the beaches here are just as good as those in Goa.”

“That’s true.” Jayalalita nodded in agreement.

"The business environment here is among the best in all of India, especially under my aunt's rule."

“I knew it,” Jayalalita glared at her, “you had other ideas.”

"That's a good thing, right? Madras can also develop."

“Speak, what do you want to do?” Jayalalita asked Ron this time.

"Suer Electric plans to build a branch factory here, mainly producing home appliances such as televisions, juicers, and rice cookers."

"Do you need land and preferential policies?" she asked quite bluntly.

“Yes,” Ron had never discussed benefits with chief ministers so openly in broad daylight.

"Luckily you arrived early." She led them to the inner room of the office.

There's a map here, a map of Madras' industrial plan.

Ron glanced at it and saw many familiar names.

Hyundai, BMW, Daimler, Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Wright, Yamaha
Damn, they're all international giants, the lineup is incredibly luxurious.

"I'm preparing to invite them to build a factory here. This is just a preliminary draft for internal discussions. Just tell me which piece of land you're interested in, and don't worry about anything else."

“Anywhere? I mean these circled areas.” Ron pointed to prime locations on the map.

"Just treat it like a blank sheet of paper, and I'll make those car manufacturers move it."

Ron gasped. Is this what it feels like to do whatever you want? It's so exhilarating!

Since that's the case, he didn't stand on ceremony and directly selected a plot of land near Port Madras.

"Is it for export considerations?" Jayalalita asked.

"Yes, the shipping routes here connect East Asia and the West, making it an excellent trading port."

Madras Port has a very good location, bordered by Sri Lanka to the south and the Bay of Bengal to the east.

These two regions have many developing countries, making them ideal for Suer Electric to expand its market.

"If that's the case, do you want the port?"

"What?" Ron was a little taken aback.

“Here,” Jayalalita pointed to the north of Madras Port, “Ennor Port, now that the state government allows private ports to exist, I’m preparing to auction it off.”

Ron measured it with his fingers; Ennor Port was only about 20 kilometers from Madras Port, very close!
What does this mean? The benefits are numerous.

Firstly, the port of Ennor remains within the sphere of influence of the metropolis of Madras, as it is itself part of the city.

Secondly, it is close enough to the port of Madras that many public facilities are even connected to it.

As the busiest port in South India, Ennor Port becomes the alternative when Madras Port is overcrowded.

They have no shortage of traffic and business; they're practically a goose that lays golden eggs.

"What do I need to give in return?" Ron's breathing quickened slightly.

He wasn't naive enough to think that he could take these things for free just because of his relationship with Kavia.

“Ten percent of the profits from this project will be mine,” Jayalalita said without any hesitation.

"make a deal!"

"Furthermore, I want to see the port operational within two years." She was not short-sighted.

While she was taking the money, Jayalalita genuinely wanted to boost the development of Tamil Nadu; otherwise, she wouldn't have invited so many car companies to build factories there.

She was originally from Tamil Nadu, and she hoped that the poor people here would have a better life, and of course, she herself would have a better one.

“I have a few questions to confirm,” Ron said, slowly calming down. “What was the bid price for Ennor Port?”

“Nobody’s bidding against you. Ten million dollars—that’s what the government tender will say.” “And the size of the port?”

"At least four specialized berths, as well as a container terminal, a coal terminal and a multipurpose terminal."

“Wow, even though I’ve never been in the port business, I know that this would require at least a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“The bank will provide you with a loan; you won’t have to spend any money,” Jayalalita said casually.

“Wait a minute,” Ron was taken aback by her extravagance, “all of this money is provided by the bank?”

“This guy is even more greedy than me,” Jayalalita suddenly turned to Kavia and complained.

"Uh, did I misunderstand?" Ron said somewhat awkwardly, while Kavia burst into laughter.

"No one expects you to get it all done in one go, as long as it's operational. One berth or one dock, it's fine."

“I understand.” Ron breathed a sigh of relief; the project would be carried out in stages.

First, build one berth and get it running, then gradually expand it later.

As long as he can give the government a satisfactory explanation, that's fine; otherwise, an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars at once would be too much of a burden for him.

"Tamil Bank will give you a loan of 20 billion rupees, and you'll have to figure out the rest yourself."

“No problem!” Ron was full of confidence this time.

"The land for the factory is free, and it's tax-free for three years."

"Wow!" Ron was suddenly enveloped in happiness.

“But I only have one request.” Jayalalita suddenly became serious.

"You say."

"Whether it's a factory or a port, they must be built properly. Otherwise, I'll throw you in jail, and Kavia's pleas won't help."

“Of course!” Ron’s heart skipped a beat. He then realized that the woman in front of him was the Chief Minister of Tamil State.

Jayalalita was incredibly efficient; as soon as the matter was finalized, she summoned her assistant.

She had a new plan made, adding Suer Electric Appliances and removing the original Hyundai Motors.

There was no reason, no explanation; it was simply a gesture of command.

Shouldn't such a major plan concerning the city's future be discussed in a meeting?

Ron blinked. No, the entire state of Tamil seemed to be under her absolute control.

The bidding for Ennor Port was even more outrageous; Jayalalita simply ticked it off with a pen, indicating that Ron had won the bid and that the government had already received ten million dollars.

In fact, Ron was standing right in front of her, doing nothing, not even taking out his checkbook.

All of this was done in front of several assistants, who not only did not question it, but also praised Jayalalita's decision as extremely wise.

Ron noticed as he looked at the group that they had one thing in common, or rather, everyone in AIADMK headquarters had this one thing in common.

That is, all the politicians were wearing white shirts with semi-transparent pockets on their chests, with a picture of Jayalalita clearly stuffed inside.

Ron guessed they were doing this to publicly demonstrate their loyalty, a blatant act of flattery and bootlicking.

However, in his subsequent observations, Ron discovered that all of the above was already a relatively conservative approach to the worship of Jayalalita.

Some people who encountered her in the corridor immediately knelt down, behaving like complete slaves.

Some people even tattooed her portrait on their forearms.

All major decisions in Tamil Nadu are made by Jayalalita alone, and she sets the tone for even many minor matters.

No one can represent her; politicians across the state often struggle to understand her intentions.

She not only enjoys unparalleled prestige among politicians, but is also deeply loved by voters, as evidenced by the "mama" culture outside.

Jayalalita was able to do this not only because of the prestige she had built up over many years in politics, but also because of her "generosity".

Although it was her first time serving as Chief Minister, she pioneered a new and imaginative form of populism.

Many Indian politicians believe that voters don't actually care about ideology, but only about relief and handouts.

Therefore, during election season, politicians often promise to forgive farmers' debts or give voters gifts in a high-profile manner.

Jayalalita is more creative than other politicians; in the last election, she directly allocated hundreds of millions of rupees to distribute 200,000 bicycles to the people of the state.

She also tailored saris specifically for female voters, or gave them handbags directly. For voters in rural areas, she gave them seeds, sheep, and poultry.

Never seen anything like it before, this is what real vote-buying looks like.

Not only did she do it, she also advertised in full-page ads in national newspapers like The Times of India, boasting about her generous gifts.

Yes, Kavia has personally written a few of them.

This approach inevitably draws ridicule from social commentators, but it's effective; voters eagerly anticipate what Jayalalita will deliver during elections.

The next general election in Tamil Nadu is in 96, which is next year.

Ron immediately assured his "mother" that Suer Electric's products were of good quality and inexpensive, and that everyone could afford them.

If not now, when?

Oh dear, I wonder how many television sets Jayalalita will buy to give to voters?

He was incredibly excited.

(End of this chapter)