Jayalalithaa takes oath as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister at the Madras University on May 23. (AFP)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today filed nomination papers to
contest a by-election from Chennai's RK Nagar seat, to be held on June 27.
Ms Jayalalithaa, who was sworn in as chief minister two weeks ago, has to seek election to the state Assembly within six months of taking office. She was disqualified as a lawmaker in September last year, when a Bangalore court convicted her in a corruption case. Sent to jail for three weeks, Ms Jayalalithaa had to step down as chief minister.
The Karnataka High Court had quashed that conviction and acquitted her last month, clearing the way for her return as chief minister. She took oath along with 28 ministers on Saturday, May 23, in a swift hour-hour ceremony.
Days before she was sworn in, her party, the AIADMK's lawmaker from RK Nagar, P Vetrivel, resigned to facilitate her election.
On Monday, the Congress government in Karnataka said it would
appeal against the High Court order acquitting Ms Jayalalithaa on the charge of amassing wealth disproportionate to her income during her first term as chief minister in the 1990s. The Karnataka government says it has been advised by legal experts that it has a strong case against the Tamil Nadu chief minister.
Yesterday, Karnataka's law minister also said that the state would send a
bill of over Rs 5 crore to neighbour Tamil Nadu for the expenditure incurred on the case against Ms Jayalalithaa. The case was transferred to Karnataka 12 years ago on the orders of the Supreme Court to ensure that the politics of Tami Nadu would not influence the proceedings.