Chennai: AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa is all set to return as Tamil Nadu chief minister following her acquittal from corruption charges by the Karnataka high court. She is likely to contest from R K Nagar constituency in north Chennai, as B Vetrivel, the party MLA representing the constituency, has submitted his resignation. Vetrivel's resignation has come days ahead of the May 22 meeting of party MLAs where Jayalalithaa is expected to be elected leader of the legislature party, paving the way for her return as Tamil Nadu chief minister.
Her conviction by a special court in Bengaluru on September 27, 2014 in the disproportionate assets case automatically disqualified her as an MLA and she had to step down as chief minister. But her acquittal by the Karnataka high court on May 11 cleared the path for her to assume charge again.
When asked if he had resigned for creating a vacancy for Jayalalithaa, Vetrivel said he was not authorized to speak to the media. "Please follow Jaya TV and Namadhu MGR for our party's official statement. I am not an authorized person," he said. If Jayalalithaa contests from R K Nagar, this will be the first time that she will be testing her electoral fortunes from a seat in the state capital. The constituency has been a traditional AIADMK stronghold.
Jayalalithaa's choice of R K Nagar came as a surprise for many party seniors. "Many of our MLAs and rebel PMK and DMDK MLAs offered to vacate their seats for Amma. R K Nagar got the opportunity," a senior said. Party sources said Vetrivel reached the state secretariat and submitted his resignation in the presence of Speaker Dhanapal and assembly secretary A M P Jamaludeen. "He was instructed by the leadership to resign. To complete the formalities, senior officials turned up at the secretariat despite it being a holiday," a senior official said.
Official and party sources said under the circumstances, Jayalalithaa may not call for early polls at this stage. "Amma might have got legal clearances for the swearing-in ceremony. Since the legal experts have clearly said that the judgment of the Karnataka high court can't be suspended on the basis of arithmetic error, she may have decided to go ahead," a senior minister said.
