And, J. Jayalalithaa in back in the saddle.
Jayalalithaa, dressed in a green saree, took oath as Tamil Nadu chief minister in the centenary hall of the Madras university this morning. She took oath in Tamil. Jayalalithaa had resigned eight months ago after being convicted in a corruption case.
28 ministers also took oath, standing in a line and speaking together. Among them was O Panneerselvam, who resigned as chief minister on Friday. He had stepped in for Jayalalithaa when she resigned in September last year.
Superstar Rajinikanth and former cricket board chief N Srinivasan also attended the ceremony. Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan represented the Centre. No senior BJP leader went to Chennai from Delhi.
O. Panneerselvam steps down as CM. Here is his delicious life story – #JayaReturnspic.twitter.com/YxSdWRcShL
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) May 22, 2015
Suddenly feeling conscious that I am wearing green today. (tries to hide) #JayaReturns
— Kajal K Iyer (@Kajal_Iyer) May 23, 2015
A “Beach Party” to celebrate #JayaReturns http://t.co/3qGn8sqabX pic.twitter.com/URZpvXe4Sd
— Offstumped Report (@offstumped) May 23, 2015
Pic of the day….as #Jaya returns as TN CM #JayaReturnspic.twitter.com/LlGRwRzlBL — Shabbir Ahmed (@Ahmedshabbir20) May 23, 2015
JJ as CM of TN. Another 150 day wonder.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) May 23, 2015
Extreme heat did not deter hundreds of her supporters from lining up along the route that Jayalalithaa, fondly called Amma or mother, took today. They sang, danced and celebrated all along the route.
The Madras University auditorium had limited space and large screens were put up outside at various places for supporters to watch the oath ceremony. Thousands of them camped overnight at the Marina Beach half a km away.