Her sari was customarily green, her face as rosy as usual and the smile as plastic as ever. AIADMK General Secretary and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa tried her best to keep a straight face, but failed on December 4. She had just won an acquittal in the twin Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (TANSI) cases and the Pleasant Stay Hotel case. The prima donna of Tamil politics could not control that extra spring in her steps-and those pleasant soundbites that were never her style.

BENEVOLENT AMMA: Jayalalithaa was unusually courteous to the media

Whether Jayalalithaa is showing signs of change is anybody's guess, but the Madras High Court verdict acquitting her and the others accused in the two cases portends changes in the political scenario beyond the borders of Tamil Nadu. The landmark TANSI judgement came a little before 11 a.m last Tuesday, when Justice N. Dinakar observed, "The prosecution has not succeeded in establishing the offence with which the accused were convicted and, therefore, I set aside the conviction and the sentence imposed upon them." The judge observed that the property owned by a corporation (TANSI) is not government property and hence it neither attracts Section 169 of IPC nor violates the Election Commission's Code of Conduct, which has no statutory force. He also found fault with the Special Court judge. "In my view, the approach of the trial judge has certainly caused prejudice to the accused in replacing the guideline value (of the land) with market value." Market value, he felt, was a matter of guesswork.

But this does not seem to be the last word on the case. Janata Party leader and the original petitioner Subramanian Swamy says he will move the Supreme Court challenging the verdict. Jayalalithaa was convicted and sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment by Special Court-III Judge P. Anbazhagan on October 9, 2000. The AIADMK leader was barred from contesting the 2001 assembly elections, and was later ousted from the chief minister's chair following a Supreme Court order disqualifying her appointment.

LADY'S MAN: Paneerselvam distributed sweets to partymen after the verdict

On December 4, Tamil Nadu had a second Diwali in quick succession, as the enthralled AIADMK cadres burst serial crackers and lit fire pots. "Ulagathin Muthalamaichar!" (The chief minister of the world)-the frenzy of Amma-mania was competing with fireworks in front of Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence. Chief Minister-by-default O. Paneerselvam went around distributing sweets to partymen, policemen and reporters. In the melee when India Today managed to ask him when he would be relinquishing office to pave way for Amma's return, the ever-smiling chief minister replied, "Laddu saappidunga, nalla irukku. (Have these laddus, they're really good)." The next day, Paneerselvam made a sweet announcement as a prelude to Amma's return: a partial rollback of the price hike effected just four days ago. Jayalalithaa had instructed Paneerselvam to roll back the price hike on power, PDS rice and bus fares so that she could enter Fort St George amidst cheers.

STATES TWIN DELIVERANCE THE CASE   THE JUDGEMENT The TANSI Case: Jaya Publications and Sasi Enterprises were accused of buying land from TANSI at a price far lower than the market value. The Pleasant Stay Hotel Case: Jayalalithaa was charged with giving unfair exemptions for the construction of a hotel in Kodaikanal.   Market value is a matter of guesswork and the TANSI property does not belong to the government, so no loss to the exchequer can be established. One year's RI quashed as the judge ruled out any conspiracy citing the police finding that no illegal gratification was involved.

On the day of the judgement, Jayalalithaa remained inside the fortress that is Poes Garden till 1 p.m. when the imposing gates were opened for the surging crowds at last. Coming out of the house, Jayalalithaa betrayed no emotions. But then, there were subtle signs of happiness. "It's too noisy here. Shall we go in?" an overtly courteous Jayalalithaa led reporters to a room. As the photographers went on clicking before she started speaking, Jayalalithaa said, "You never get enough. Take as much as you want." Then, as she found just a couple of microphones in front of her, she told a security man, "Please let all the TV channels in." Those who expected a scathing speech on how she was victimised were in for a disappointment as Jayalalithaa spoke: "I have been acquitted from all the three cases due to God's grace. I have been consistently maintaining that the cases were foisted on me and now my innocence has been proven. Now there are no legal hurdles for me to become chief minister." She went on to add that she would be contesting from Aandipatti, one of the three constituencies from where her nominations were rejected.

What she did not say was that she has been exploring the possibility of resuming power even before the by-election. Jayalalithaa was eager to become the chief minister as early as possible, but her legal consultants cautioned her against such a move. An AIADMK insider confides, "Amma appeared keen to take on the mantle without delay, but senior lawyers were of the opinion that even if there was legal validity to do so, anyone could file a public interest petition against it under Article 164(4)." A recent Supreme Court order in a Punjab case makes it clear that a person cannot continue as chief minister for a second term of six months without getting elected to the Assembly. AIADMK lawyers argue that Jayalalithaa was chief minister for only four months and that, too, was treated as void by the Supreme Court order. Besides, the Aandipatti by-election is yet to be notified by the Election Commission. But she was advised it was more prudent to wait rather than get into more legal disputes.

Fortunately for Jayalalithaa legal disputes are on the wane. She now stands exonerated in the Pleasant Stay Hotel case also, in which she was convicted and sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment in February 2000. The case, which put Jayalalithaa in the dock for allegedly giving undue exemptions for the construction of a hotel in Kodaikanal, had been another major embarrassment to the AIADMK. Amidst the celebration, Jayalalithaa declared: "This is a rebirth of the AIADMK."

Perhaps a realignment of political configurations too. While Jayalalithaa's bete noire and DMK President M. Karunanidhi said he always "respects justice", its ally the BJP welcomed the verdict and added that "everyone has to accept it". There are clear signs of the BJP getting close to the AIADMK once again.

The bitter experience of the AIADMK pulling down the previous BJP government at the Centre notwithstanding, both the parties seem to be thinking of a symbiotic friendship. As for the numbers in the Lok Sabha, AIADMK has 12 MPs and the DMK 11. However, the BJP cannot take an abrupt decision to dump the DMK. A majority of the state BJP leaders seem to be in a mood to renew ties with the AIADMK, which they consider a "more natural ally" than the DMK. The AIADMK has been sending messages of friendship to the BJP for some time now, the latest being its support to the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO).

Moreover, all is not well between the BJP and the DMK. A majority of the BJP functionaries at a recent state executive meet complained about the lack of cooperation of DMK cadres in the recent local body elections. In the event of the AIADMK joining hands with the BJP, the state politics could well witness a sea change. The TMC, which severed its ties with the DMK because of the latter's association with the BJP is unlikely to continue with the AIADMK front. The Congress, which floated a third front to fight the local body elections, has already distanced itself from the AIADMK.

On the brighter side, Jayalalithaa now has the best opportunity to show what good administration is. She can flaunt her "innocence" in good measure, at least till the next eruption of allegations.