With less than a year for the assembly elections, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's gesture is being seen as an attempt to woo the Nadar community.
In a rare public appearance this morning, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was present at a function to officially rename Chennai's Adyar IV Main Road, to B Ramachandra Adithanar, in a bid to woo the Nadar community ahead of the state assembly elections next year.
The late newspaper baron, Mr Adithanar is known for his simple style of journalism and news reporting, belongs to the powerful Nadar community.
With less than a year for the elections, Jayalalithaa's gesture is being seen as an attempt to please the community that controls business in Chennai, and is influential in southern parts of the state.
According to an official statement, the city corporation had adopted a resolution for the renaming of the road on August 3.
A newspaper advertisement issued by the late Mr Adithanar's son, Kannan Adityan said, "We thank our beloved chief Minister for coming in person today to rename the road".
This is the first time that Ms Jayalalithaa, participated in an outdoor government function, after she was sworn in as chief minister in May this year. She took over as chief minister after a gap of eight months when she was acquitted in a disproportionate assets case by the Karnataka High Court.
However Ms Jayalalithaa had received the Prime Minister at the Chennai airport on August 7.
A senior leader in the AIADMK who did not want to be named said, "This is also an opportunity for Madam to prove that her health is fine".
There was much speculation over the last two months about the chief minister's health, particularly after she chose to flag off the Chennai Metro Rail through video conferencing in June.
Ms Jayalalithaa's AIADMK had won 150 seats in the 235 member Tamil Nadu assembly in 2011.