Saturday’s verdict in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets case against AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha will decide her political future.
The judgment is crucial for Jayalalitha to maintain her image. Experts say the verdict, either way, will have a huge impact on state politics.
Though Jayalalitha proved her strength in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls where her party won 37 out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats, conviction might prove costly for her party in the 2016 Assembly polls.
A similar situation arose in 2000 when a trial court sentenced the AIADMK chief for three years and two years imprisonment in two cases. Following this, she was forced to step down as the chief minister following a apex court directive which held that she cannot hold the office after being convicted in a criminal case.
Though Jayalalitha’s trusted lieutenant O Paneerselvam took over as chief minister, the AIADMK chief returned to the top post after being acquitted by the Madras High Court.
The Rs-66 crore disproportionate asset case was filed in 1996 against Jayalalitha by the then ruling DMK led by chief minister M Karunanidhi.
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