Chennai: Former chief minister and AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa returned home to a grand welcome on Saturday evening with party cadres and corporation councillors cheering her right from Chennai airport till her residence at Poes Garden.
Starting from Meenambakkam, the crowd cheered her all the way to Poes garden, where the top brass of the state government joined the swelling crowds. All along the way a smiling Jayalalithaa waved back to her celebrating supporters.
The mood was electric on the Binny Road and Radhakrishnan Salai junction connecting Poes Garden, with the top police officers manning the crowd. And this time several party functionaries came with their family members to watch Jayalalithaa at close quarters.
“I forced my husband to take me to Poes garden and it was a memorable moment for my family to watch the charismatic Amma at close quarters,” said Ms Komala. Ku. Seenivasan, wife of a former MLA.
Amidst the vehicle horns and bursting crackers, Puratchi thalaivi… engamma singamuda (revolutionary leader and Amma is a lioness) was the voice of a government bus driver A. Ganesan from Kumbakonam. “I took leave today and the only agenda for the day is to get a glimpse of Amma and now I feel relieved,” Ganesan said.
In the melee, a group of priests from little known Tondiarpet Naga Nayagi temple with local councillors were spotted requesting the police to provide little space for them to stand and offer a pusanikai dhristi pooja (prayers with pumpkin to remove drishti (evil eye) on their party leader)
In fact the usual fanfare and pomp marked the Jayalalithaa’s return and for a moment it was like the ‘CM’ was back at the state capital, but this time AIADMK party flag had replaced the tricolour flag that usually flutters in her convoy during the AIADMK regime.
