Chennai: The ruling AIADMK’s general council meet held at Vanagaram here to elect its new general secretary saw unusual spectacle. As if to symbolise her overarching influence on the AIADMK, a chair used by former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was brought to the venue and placed at the centre of the dais.
The chair was adorned with a portrait of Jayalalithaa and floral tributes were paid. The wooden chair, which was used by Jayalalithaa at her Poes Garden residence here, was brought to the Srivari Venkatachalapathi marriage hall here where the party’s meeting took place on Thursday. The framed picture of Jayalalithaa was placed and flowers were showered on the photograph as a mark of respect to the late leader. Interestingly, the chair was covered by a green velvette cloth. Green is her favourite colour.
Flower petals were placed on a stainless steel plate on a teapoy in front of her chair to help leaders pay their respects. Senior leaders including party presidium chairman E. Madusudanan and Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam paid floral tributes before commencing the meeting. The chair continued to be at the centre of the dais in which over three dozen leaders were seated throughout the meeting.
In the past, Jayalalithaa used to be seated on the dais during such meetings and only a couple of seniors would be present beside her. “It was a chair used by Amma. It was brought from her home. It had been brought to meetings also before (when Jayalalithaa was alive for the leader to sit),” a senior leader said. Her passing away was a profound grief for the party members and fans.
