Jayalalithaa verdict: How early celebrations turned into sorrow and shock!

Chennai, Sep 28: Amma supporters cheered and whistled as the case went on, anticipating a clean chit for

Chief Minister J

in the disproportionate assets case.

But in a few hours, as soon as the sentence came out, all the happy faces turned red with shock and anger!

Jayalalithaa's party celebrated ahead of the verdict by bursting crackers and distributing sweets across the city. By afternoon, the very same celebrations turned to lamentation as the party faced up to the reality of her conviction by a Bangalore court.

The day dawned on an optimistic note as cadres started to file into Chennai from as far as Ariyalur, Madurai and Tirunelveli. Functionaries, discussing the fate of the verdict, were seen huddled in the bylanes off Lloyds Road, home of the AIADMK headquarters, while across the city crowds of cadres waved party flags and danced to drum beats, reported media.

Chinnaiyan, a Chennai Corporation councillor, dropped by Lloyds Road with a huge plate of ladoos from Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam temple in T Nagar, where he had offered prayers.

"Once the verdict is out, I will go and burn the effigy of Karunanidhi in front of his residence," said P Velankani, a councillor.

Auto drivers M A M Murugananam and M S Anandan flaunted the stock of firecrackers in their vehicles. "Amma will come out unscathed and we will celebrate like never before," they said.

And then the news of Jayalalithaa's conviction broke at 2.30 pm. The shocker reached party headquarters, women cadres howled in despair, and the men struggled to hide their emotions.

"Our Amma has not done anything wrong, it is a fabricated case. She will come out of this clean," said Jeeva, a councillor, wiping away tears.

And before they knew it, the same people who were distributing laddoos, were see burning effigies of Karunanidhi and chanting slogans against DMK.

OneIndia News