With Jayalalithaa's acquittal, AIADMK regains lost political ground
In a dramatic reversal of fortune, the AIADMK regained lost political ground after the Karnataka HC acquitted J Jayalalithaa in DA case.
In a dramatic reversal of fortune, the AIADMK regained lost political ground after the Karnataka high court acquitted its chief J Jayalalithaa in a corruption case on Monday. More significantly, the verdict has come as a morale boost for the beleaguered AIADMK government, whose popularity was on the wane on account of perceived inaction and policy paralysis that had struck the state administration after Jayalalithaa stepped down as chief minister in September 2014.
Reacting to her acquittal, Jayalalithaa said the court order was a victory for “my legacy and the legacy of my mentor MGR.“ She said the court order helped her to emerge as gold refined by fire.
Her conviction in the case by a Bengaluru special court in September last year had come close on the heels of a near sweep in the Lok Sabha elections in which the party won 37 out of 39 seats in the state and became the third largest party in the lower House of the Parliament. Her popularity was at its peak then. But her imprisonment and her successor O Paneerselvam's reluctance to take the reins of the state into his hands left the administration in a state of disarray. Jayalalithaa's decision to withdraw into a shell made matters worse.
Charges of corruption were levelled against ministers and there were all signs of the administration fast slipping into chaos with the arrest of former agriculture minister S Krishnamurthy in connection with the suicide of an executive engineer of his department in Tirunelveli in February .
With hardly a year left for the assembly elections, Jayalalithaa has to fast make up for lost ground if she is to retain power in the next polls. Her acquittal could pave way for a realignment of political forces in the state. Congress' break-away faction, TMC, led by G K Vasan is more than willing to have a tie-up with AIADMK. Given the compulsions of BJP in the Rajya Sabha, where it is dependent on AIADMK's 11 members, one cannot rule out a tieup between BJP and AIADMK either. The saffron party may now also find it difficult to galvanize support based on its anti-corruption plank.
“The NDA in the state will become more cohesive. We are not dependent on fortunes of the AIADMK which has never had a political soft corner for us despite issue based support and floor coordination in Parliament,“ said BJP general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Muralidhar Rao. VCK's Thol Thirumavalavan has also been indicating that he prefers AIADMK to its arch rival, DMK.
Reacting to her acquittal, Jayalalithaa said the court order was a victory for “my legacy and the legacy of my mentor MGR.“ She said the court order helped her to emerge as gold refined by fire.
Her conviction in the case by a Bengaluru special court in September last year had come close on the heels of a near sweep in the Lok Sabha elections in which the party won 37 out of 39 seats in the state and became the third largest party in the lower House of the Parliament. Her popularity was at its peak then. But her imprisonment and her successor O Paneerselvam's reluctance to take the reins of the state into his hands left the administration in a state of disarray. Jayalalithaa's decision to withdraw into a shell made matters worse.
Charges of corruption were levelled against ministers and there were all signs of the administration fast slipping into chaos with the arrest of former agriculture minister S Krishnamurthy in connection with the suicide of an executive engineer of his department in Tirunelveli in February .
With hardly a year left for the assembly elections, Jayalalithaa has to fast make up for lost ground if she is to retain power in the next polls. Her acquittal could pave way for a realignment of political forces in the state. Congress' break-away faction, TMC, led by G K Vasan is more than willing to have a tie-up with AIADMK. Given the compulsions of BJP in the Rajya Sabha, where it is dependent on AIADMK's 11 members, one cannot rule out a tieup between BJP and AIADMK either. The saffron party may now also find it difficult to galvanize support based on its anti-corruption plank.
“The NDA in the state will become more cohesive. We are not dependent on fortunes of the AIADMK which has never had a political soft corner for us despite issue based support and floor coordination in Parliament,“ said BJP general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Muralidhar Rao. VCK's Thol Thirumavalavan has also been indicating that he prefers AIADMK to its arch rival, DMK.
ADVERTISEMENT
The DMK camp, meanwhile, is in disarray too. DMK chief M Karunanidhi has already gone on record to say that there was a need for a united opposition to take on AIADMK. Congress may choose to stay with it.DMDK's Vijayakanth may not have too many options given his dislike for Jayalalithaa and may be forced to join hands with DMK leader M K Stalin to form a strong opposition front to take on a resurgent AIADMK.Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
Related Articles
Who is Radhan Pandit? Astrologer who predicted Vijay’s Tamil Nadu election results 2026 win, advised J Jayalalithaa2026-05-04T14:05:54Z- Battle for North Chennai: DMK fights for dominance in RK Nagar as Jayalalithaa's shadow looms large2026-04-19T17:55:10Z
- AIADMK demands Bharat Ratna for J Jayalalithaa2026-02-02T12:12:32Z
ADVERTISEMENT
