Jayalalithaa takes oath as MLA

Chennai; Days after securing a thumping victory in the RK Nagar bypoll here, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today took oath as MLA. Jayalalithaa took oath as Legislator in the presence of Speaker P Dhanapal in his chamber inside the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Her cabinet colleagues were also present on the occasion. The AIADMK supremo returns as Legislator after a gap of about 10 months, after she was disqualified as MLA and Chief Minister following her conviction in a wealth case by a Bengaluru trial court last September. Jayalalithaa was subsequently acquitted by the Karnataka High Court in May following her appeal against the lower court verdict, allowing her to return as the Chief Minister. Her party member P Vetrivel had vacated the RK Nagar Assembly seat in May, resulting in a bypoll which Jayalalithaa won by a huge margin of 1,50,722 votes against her nearest rival, CPI’s C Mahendran who forfeited his deposit. The bypoll was held on June 27 and results were declared on June 30.