#JayaVerdict: Chennai Super Queen is back

"By 12 o'clock, Amma will be back as CM," screamed a supporter around 10am outside J Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence. He had possibly thought of an hour after the verdict time of 11am, expecting that justice Kumaraswamy will take that long to deliver his verdict.

In the end, it was all over in less than a minute. A few seconds that changed the political dynamics in Tamil Nadu dramatically.

The AIADMK which was in silent mode for the last seven months, pained by the self-imposed exile of its leader since October 18 when she was released on bail, burst into celebration like never before. Mother's Day had come a day late to Chennai as "Amma is back" and "Amma returns" posters sprung up all over the city.

Frankly, the verdict came as a pleasant surprise to the AIADMK too, stung as its leaders and cadre were by the four-year imprisonment imposed by the special court in September. They were more in hope mode, praying to just about every god and goddess in town.

The verdict will leave its imprint on Tamil Nadu's political landscape. The DMK will have to go back to the drawing board as it was hoping to draw fresh energy from Jaya's conviction. But her acquittal threatens to eclipse the party of the rising sun. The enthusiastic AIADMK cadre are talking of a zero score in 2016 Assembly polls, pointing to the DMK's nil score in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The verdict will upset the BJP too which was going to town in the last seven months, talking of itself as the only clean party and asking voters to junk both the corrupt Dravidian parties. The BJP's lotus cannot bloom in an Amma wave, which may just sweep Tamil Nadu.

With index of opposition unity weak, Jayalalithaa will be tempted to advance elections and take advantage of the euphoria or wait till the 2G case ruling, where the DMK leaders are in the dock. Either way, the Chennai Super Queen has delivered a blockbuster hit in the Indian political league. Chennai Express is back on track.