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Jayalalithaa Calls On Tamil Nadu Governor, Stakes Claim To Form Govt.


manjunath455

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CHENNAI: AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa on Friday called upon Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah and staked claim to form a government, making a significant occasion, coming as it does in the wake of her acquittal in the sensational wealth case. She was greeted by Rosaiah and his wife Sivalakshmi with shawls, bouquets and fruit basket. She too handed over a bouquet to Rosaiah before handing over a copy of the resolution passed by her party MLAs earlier in the day, electing her party legislature leader. Dressed in a green sari, her hair in a loose chignon and with a bindi on her forehead, Jayalalithaa appeared relaxed and smiling. She was accompanied by chief minister O Panneerselvam and four other senior ministers. Visuals of her brief meeting with the Governor was beamed live by her party channel Jaya TV.

The city seemed to burst into celebrations as Jayalalithaa, who was making a public appearance after seven months after the Karnataka high court acquitted her in the wealth case, left her Poes Garden residence at 1.28pm and proceeded to Raj Bhavan. In what appeared to be a victory march, her cavalcade weaved through the main roads of the city, with thousands of frenzied cadres, who lined up on either side along her route, greeting her and shouting slogans, hailing her.



They threw yellow marigold flowers and rose petals, waved flags and hailed her as 'Puratchi Thalaivi' (Revolutionary Leader). Jayalalithaa in a green sari, sitting in front, could be seen waving constantly or folding her palms in a gesture of greeting, her smiling face visible through the windscreen. With the convoy moving slowly, especially in areas where the crowds were thick, her personal security guards could be seen running alongside her vehicle. With the city temperature touching 40 degrees celcius, it was a far from envious task. As Jayalalithaa falls under the Z Plus security category, a group of special commandos or Black Cats followed in a vehicle behind. As the crowds along the route to Raj Bhavan got more frenzied, policemen could be seen pushing back the crowds and security personnel frantically cleared the windscreen of flowers.


A tight security cordon had been thrown around the city with large groups of policemen and women trying their best to maintain order. After calling on the Governor, Jayalalithaa would garland the statues of three Dravidian leader, including AIADMK founder and mentor M G Ramachandran, DMK leader C N Annadurai and DK leader Periyar E V Ramasamy. All along her route, cadres lined up the streets. Much before Jayalalithaa's scheduled departure from her Poes Garden bungalow, cadres had arrived in tempos, trucks and mini vans at various points, holding up banners and posters of Jayalalithaa. On certain locations on the street side, young men and women dressed in sequined shirts and dresses gyrated to fast beats to keep the waiting crowds entertained.

Earlier in the day, the Governor had invited Jayalalithaa to form a government after chief minister O Panneerselvam handed over his resignation to make way for his party chief to take over the administrative reins. A Raj Bhavan press release issued at 8.30am by principal secretary to the Governor said he accepted the resignation of Panneerselvam and his council of ministers with effect from forenoon of May 22. "The Governor has requested the CM and his present council to function until alternative arrangements are made," the release said.

Another press release said the Governor had invited Jayalalithaa to form the ministry at the earliest and requested her to send the list of persons to be appointed as ministers with their portfolios. The AIADMK chief is scheduled to meet Rosiah at around 2pm today to stake claim to form the government. She is likely to be sworn in as chief minister at a gala ceremony in the city on Saturday morning.

At 7am, 148 AIADMK MLAs unanimously elected Jayalalithaa as legislature party leader. At a brief meeting presided over by party presidium chairman E Madhusoodanan, the MLAs unanimously passed a resolution electing her as their leader. Madhusoodanan read out the resolution that merely said she had been elected legislature party leader.

Barring two MLAs, including former minister S S (Agri) Krishnamoorthy, who was lodged in a Triunelveli prison, and Sendur Pandian, who was unwell in a hospital, the remaining 148 party MLAs assembled at the AIADMK headquarters in the city at 7am sharp. Panneerselvam proposed Jayalalithaas name and power minister Natham Vishwanathan seconded it, drawing claps and cheers. Panneeerselvam then announced he would be resigning from his post as CM.

The gathering dispersed soon after the resolution was read out and a core committee led by Panneerselvam went to Jayalalithaa's Poes garden residence to hand over the resolution copy to her. The occasion was marked by much cheer with seven of the rebel MLAs from Vijayakanth's DMDK too present to show solidarity with the AIADMK chief.

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