Jayalalithaa storm hits capital
It would be pretty much clichéd to sum up chief minister Jayalalithaa’s capital visit saying ‘she came, she saw and she conquered’.
But then, that’s what happened these last couple of days that the AIADMK supremo spent here on her maiden visit after winning handsomely the recent Assembly elections.
The huge excitement witnessed in the political and media circles even before her special plane landed here early Monday evening is something that only Ms Jayalalithaa can create.
Red carpets and basket loads of bouquets complemented the packed media conference after her warm meeting with the Prime Minister at his Race Course Road residence.
If one is willing to read between the lines — and there is no big gap between those lines — Ms Jayalalithaa dropped enough hints to the Congress that she would be willing to hold hands with the national party if it dumped the DMK and approached her.
“If anyone wants my support, they have to ask me. You cannot ask on their behalf,” she shot back when a scribe asked her at the press meet whether she was hesitating to align with the Congress because the party was ‘weak’ in Tamil Nadu.
“It’s premature to comment on such questions; no one from the UPA has asked me this.”
To another question, the AIADMK chief said it would not be appropriate on her part to call on Congress president Sonia Gandhi as the Congress and the DMK continued to be partners in the UPA.
“In such a situation, it would not be appropriate for me to call on Mrs Sonia Gandhi who is also the Congress president.”
Asked about the support offer she had made to the UPA (minus DMK) last November, Ms Jayalalithaa said, “The offer was made seven months ago. The situation was entirely different. After that, much water has flowed under the bridge. The Congress has made it clear that its alliance continues with the DMK. Both are still partners in the UPA coalition government.”
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