Judgement day for Jayalalithaa: AIADMK activists pray for 'Amma'

Chennai, May 10: Even as the world celebrates Mother's Day on Sunday, AIADMK leaders and activists are praying that Monday should turn out to be lucky for their `Amma' -- party chief J. Jayalalithaa.

On Monday, the Karnataka High Court will deliver the judgement on the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's appeal against her conviction in the Rs.66.64 crore disproportionate assets case.

AIADMK cadres and leaders fondly address Jayalalithaa as 'Amma' or Mother.

"We are hoping for a positive result," said Avadi Kumar, the AIADMK spokesperson, told IANS.

The striking down of the trial court's order will give a big boost to Jayalalithaa and the government led by her AIADMK nearly a year ahead of the assembly elections.

Jayalalithaa has approached the high court, challenging her conviction along with three others in the disproportionate assets case by a Bangalore trial court on September 27, 2014.

The Bangalore court has sentenced Jayalalithaa to four years in jail with a fine of Rs.100 crore.

Besides Jayalalithaa, her aides N. Sasikala, V.N. Sudhakaran and J. Elasvarasi were sentenced by the trial court.

The disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa and three others relates to from 1991-96 involving Rs.66.65 crore when she became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for a first time. The case lasted about 18 years.

If Monday's ruling goes in her favour, Jayalalithaa can become the chief minister again and within six months get elected to the assembly.

There is also the possibility of the AIADMK government opting for a snap election to cash on the positive court verdict.

"What will happen if the court strikes down the trial court order cannot be predicted now," spokesman Kumar said.

If that happens, the problems for the party would aggravate.

Meanwhile AIADMK party leaders and cadres are performing special prayers in several temples in Tamil Nadu seeking divine intervention in their leader's favour.

Born in what was then known as Mysore (now part of Karnataka) on Feb 2, 1948, Jayalalithaa moved to Chennai with her mother, who started acting in movies.

Jayalalithaa studied at the Bishop Cotton Girl's High School in Bangalore and another Christian convent, Church Park, in Chennai. A bright student, she ventured into acting, making her debut at age 16 in a Kannada movie.

Her first Tamil movie was the memorable "Vennira Aadai". But it was the grand success of "Aayirathil Oruvan" pairing with the legendary M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) that turned Jayalalithaa into a leading light of Tamil movie world.

She has paired with almost all the leading Tamil heroes. She has acted in over 100 movies, mostly in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

A charismatic leader at home in Tamil, English and Hindi (a rare quality in Tamil Nadu politics), Jayalalithaa has also sung many songs and written several stories.

IANS