The swearing-in ceremony of J. Jayalalithaa on Monday, May 23, as Tamil Nadu’s chief minister for the sixth time is likely to bring together a constellation of stars of non-Congress political parties. Invitations are being sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top BJP leaders and chief ministers of states ruled by parties other than the Congress.
Besides Mr Modi, the guest list is likely to include BJP president Amit Shah, finance minister Arun Jaitley, IT and communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and chief ministers Navin Patnaik of Orissa, N. Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh and Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan, besides other prominent leaders.
As Gujarat CM, Mr Modi had attended the swearing-in ceremony of Ms Jayalalithaa in May 2011 and she had reciprocated by participating in the ceremony in which he was sworn in as Gujarat CM for a third straight term in December 2012.
Sources in the BJP told this newspaper that Mr Modi and other senior leaders are expected to finalise their programme once they get a formal invitation from the AIADMK. Ms Jayalalithaa will be sworn in as CM on Monday at the same venue she was sworn in last year: the Centenary Auditorium, University of Madras.
Ms Jayalalithaa has maintained close relations with Mr Patnaik and Mr Naidu and both leaders are also expected to fly down here on Monday to witness the swearing-in. The AIADMK wants maximum participation of national leaders since they feel Ms Jayalalithaa has scripted history by returning to power for a consecutive term, a feat previously achieved only by her mentor, M.G. Ramachandran, in 1984.
The swearing-in is expected to send a political message since most leaders of non-Congress parties would converge at the venue. The AIADMK chief has been adopting an anti-Congress stance at the national level and her party supports the BJP to pass crucial bills in the Rajya Sabha where the NDA lacks a majority.
It is known that she has an excellent rapport with Mr Modi and his senior Cabinet colleagues Arun Jaitley and M. Venkaiah Naidu, who have been in touch with her over the phone on several issues, including crucial bills in Parliament.
