The appeal has come at a time when the Tamil Nadu chief minister is keen to win the Assembly elections scheduled for next year. With this single- minded approach, she had already begun to concentrate on her administration and also launched a soft campaign. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister on May 23, after an eight-month break during which time her dummy chief minister O. Panneerselvam took no decision and the governance was ignored. Fortunately for her, there is a kind of sympathy after the trial court verdict. Shrewd politician that she is Jaya hopes to turn the tide against her in her favor during the Assembly elections.

The appeal has come at a time when Jaya is contesting from R.K. Nagar in a bye- election. She was automatically disqualified when the trial court had given a verdict of 4 years imprisonment and an Rs 100 crore fine. However, the appeal may not come in the way of her win as the Supreme Court may take up the case only after the summer vacation.

In its petition the Karnataka government has requested the apex court to restore the disqualification of Jaya on what it called the’ mathematical error’. It has also pointed out that it did not get enough time to put forth its case before the High Court. The DA case against her was originally filed in 1996. Karnataka government comes into the picture after the trial was shifted in 2003 to ensure that the politics of Tami Nadu would not influence the proceedings.

Ironically, the two national parties – the Congress and the BJP are wooing the AIADMK for some electoral understanding or tie up for the Assembly polls. The AIADMK had swept the Lok Sabha polls winning 37 of the 39 seats while its main rival the DMK did not win a single seat. While Jaya is keeping the cards close to her chest the BJP, which won a single seat, wants to have some understanding with Jaya. Prime Minister Modi even congratulated her last month on her acquittal amidst rumors that there was the hidden hand of the Centre on her acquittal. The Congress, which was wiped out, too would like some understanding, as the party had always been piggyback riding on either the DMK or the AIADMK. Now that the DMK is wiped out, it is looking to the AIADMK.

Facing a Hobson’s choice, Karnataka government was assessing the pros and cons of going on appeal. Interestingly, the KPCC Legal Cell was of the view that Karnataka was not an aggrieved party as it was involved only in an administrative capacity. Since it had earlier filed a petition claiming that the state had no interest in the outcome of the case, the legal cell felt that appealing against the HC verdict now would amount to showing some interest.

There were also other political reasons cited against going on appeal. The Congress is on a revival mode after its vice president Rahul Gandhi came back from his sabbatical. The main opposition party has taken lead in Parliament to raise issues and has threatened the Modi government that it will not allow the ensuing Monsoon session of Parliament function in view of the recent revelations made by the former IPL chief Lalit Modi recently involving the External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje. The AIADMK is the third largest party in the Lok Sabha and has a good number of seats in the Rajya Sabha also. So getting the support of the AIADMK would help its cause. Moreover the BJP is in a minority in Rajya Sabha and the Modi government is keen to push through key reform bills like the GST and Land Acquisition bill in the coming monsoon session. If the Karnataka government had supported Jaya by not going on appeal the Congress could expect the AIADMK support to the congress led opposition in Parliament.

Secondly, the Congress was hoping to ride piggyback on the AIADMK in the next Assembly polls. The Congress leaders are in touch with the AIADMK boss and would like to see that Jaya looks away from the BJP. Thirdly, the state had already spent several Crores of rupees on the case and the Siddharamaiah would have been happy to get rid of the case. However after consultations with the high command he took the final decision to go on appeal

The next few months are crucial for Jaya’s political career as she must make all out efforts to win her case in the apex court besides winning the state. Both are stupendous tasks. Jaya is known as a fighter. It is possible that the case may drag on for years and she might even complete the next term going by the way our courts function! (IPA Service)