J Jayalalithaa will take oath as Tamil Nadu chief minister at 11 am today. She had resigned eight months ago after a Bangalore court convicted her in a corruption case.
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J Jayalalithaa, 67, will be sworn in along with 28 ministers at the centenary hall of the Madras University. She met the state's Governor K Rosaiah on Friday afternoon and staked claim to form government.
She has retained all but two ministers from the cabinet of O Paneerselvam, who resigned as chief minister on Friday. Mr Paneerselvam will be Finance Minister, his portfolio before he had to step in for Ms Jayalalithaa.
Sources said a senior central minister like Arun Jaitley or Sushma Swaraj could attend the oath ceremony. It is not known yet whether Ms Jayalalithaa's neighbour Rajinikanth will attend.
In her first public appearance in eight months, Ms Jayalalithaa on Friday also paid floral tribute at the statue of her mentor and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran in Anna Salai.
Hundreds of people greeted her at Anna Salai. Many more adoring supporters holding up party flags lined her entire route on Friday and showered her car with marigold.
Ms Jayalalithaa must win a state assembly seat within six months of being sworn in. Already, the MLA from RK Nagar in Chennai has resigned so that she can to contest that seat.
But there is also speculation that Ms Jayalalithaa could seek early state elections. Tamil Nadu is due to vote for a new assembly in less than a year.
Twelve days ago the Karnataka High Court acquitted Ms Jayalalithaa, finding her not guilty of amassing wealth disproportionate to her income during her first term as chief minister. That cleared the way for her return as chief minister.
Ms Jayalalithaa's rivals have urged the Karnataka government to appeal in the Supreme Court against her acquittal. But the Congress government in Karnataka has indicated that it will take time to decide whether to appeal or not.
Ms Jayalalithaa's AIADMK had won a commanding majority in the 2011 state elections. Last year, it also swept 37 of Tamil Nadu's 39 Lok Sabha seats, which makes it the third largest party in Parliament after the BJP and Congress.
