J Jayalalithaa with Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah at the Raj Bhavan
J Jayalalithaa drove out of her Poes Garden residence today, hands folded in greeting as her car travelled slowly down a road lined by crowds of adoring fans who flashed the V sign for victory and showered flower petals on her vehicle.
The AIADMK chief, dressed in green, drove to the Raj Bhavan and met Governor K Rosaiah, who has invited her to be chief minister of Tamil Nadu again. This is her first appearance in public in eight months.
Ms Jayalalithaa, 67, is expected to be sworn in with her council of ministers at about 11 am tomorrow, eight months after she had to resign when a Bangalore court convicted her in a corruption case.
She was acquitted 11 days ago by the Karnataka High Court, but had not appeared in public till now.
From the Raj Bhavan, she will head out to garland the statues of AIADMK leaders, starting with founder MG Ramachandran's statue at Anna Salai. Hundreds of people have gathered there to catch a glimpse of Ms Jayalalithaa or 'Amma', as she is called.
At the AIADMK headquarters, there is song and dance in celebration since early on Friday morning, when the party's lawmakers unanimously elected Ms Jayalalithaa as their leader, a formality for her to take over as Chief Minister. Within six months of being sworn in, she must win a state assembly seat and already the MLA from Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar Constituency has resigned to facilitate that.
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.
But the focus right now is her comeback as chief minister, an event described by a supporter as a "festival." Another said, "Our mother is back."
Ms Jayalalithaa will take oath in the auditorium of the Madras University, where she has been sworn in before.
This morning O Panneerselvam, who Ms Jayalalithaa had handpicked to take her place when she was convicted in September last year, resigned and the Governor invited Ms Jayalalithaa to form government "at the earliest."