Indian politician Jayalalithaa wins corruption conviction appeal

One of India's biggest political personality cults received an unexpected boost when Jayalalithaa, the autocratic former film star and ex-chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, won an appeal against a four-year jail sentence on charges of extravagant corruption.

Last September, the southern state's capital Chennai witnessed tearful scenes as the politician's distraught supporters - who know her only as "Amma" (mother) - lamented a ruling that revealed lurid details of the wealth accumulated by their heroine, including her collection of 700 shoes and 10,000 saris.

But on Wednesday an appeal court resurrected the career of one of India's most controversial public figures, following her acquittal on charges dating back nearly two decades. The decision prompted delirious scenes from supporters in Chennai, and also outside India's national parliament in New Delhi.

The decision has wide-ranging consequences for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is entering a critical stage of his year-old government in which he must negotiate with powerful state-level leaders over political reforms.

"This is a huge political development in India, stunning even. I don't think it was expected," said N Ram, chief executive of the Hindu publishing group in Chennai. "It has major significance obviously here, but also nationally."

The acquittal is likely to be criticised by anti-corruption campaigners, who celebrated when Jayalalithaa was jailed briefly last year, before winning release on bail - making her the first chief minister to be jailed while in office, in a country where political leaders are often charged with graft but rarely punished.

Jayalalithaa's incarceration and resignation as chief minister carried all the more symbolism given both the extravagance of the corruption charges against her and the extent of the personality cult that enveloped the three-time chief ministers's rule.

Although she appeared rarely in public, the streets of Chennai were generally plastered with giant cartoon images of Jayalalithaa's stern face. Politicians belonging to her All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party were required to wear shirts that carried an image of their leader.

In spite of her taste for self-aggrandisement and an authoritarian ruling style, Jayalalithaa repeatedly won elections by promising heavy welfare spending, which included building a network of hundreds of popular roadside "Amma" cafes, which doled out cheap meals to workers.<

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The original case charged Jayalalithaa, who first rose to fame acting in Tamil-language cinema in the 1960s, of amassing "disproportionate assets" of 530m rupees ($8.3m) during the early 1990s, a time when her official salary as chief minister was just Rs1 a month.

But on Wednesday the high court in the neighbouring state of Karnataka, where the case was being heard, overturned that guilty verdict. Analysts said the judge had provided no reason for the acquittal in court, while the formal explanation had not yet been published.

Having been acquitted, Jayalalithaa is again likely to weigh in on national issues confronting Mr Modi's government, assuming that she returns to the role of chief minister in Tamil Nadu, one of India's largest and most economically important states.

Mr Modi this week also hopes to pass legislation introducing major reforms to national taxation, which will require the agreement of state leaders such as Jayalalithaa before it can be implemented.

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