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| India Official Found Guilty of Corruption | India Official Found Guilty of Corruption |
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| NEW DELHI — The powerful chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha Jayaram, will be forced to step down after a court convicted her of corruption and sentenced her to four years in prison on Saturday, an unprecedented ruling against a sitting chief minister. | |
| During Ms. Jayaram’s first term in office in the 1990s, she was accused of having assets — nearly $11 million — that far exceeded her declared income, which she stated was just a token one rupee a month. She was tried under the Prevention of Corruption Act, but the case languished in court for 18 years before Saturday’s ruling. | During Ms. Jayaram’s first term in office in the 1990s, she was accused of having assets — nearly $11 million — that far exceeded her declared income, which she stated was just a token one rupee a month. She was tried under the Prevention of Corruption Act, but the case languished in court for 18 years before Saturday’s ruling. |
| “The long arm of the law has at last caught up with her,” said A. R. Venkatachalapathy, a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. | “The long arm of the law has at last caught up with her,” said A. R. Venkatachalapathy, a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. |
| For those familiar with Ms. Jayaram, 66, the reversal of fortune was unexpected. Known simply as Jayalalitha, she is one of a small number of influential regional leaders in India, a former actress who rode into office on the coattails of a male benefactor and then consolidated her power. | |
| The assets she is accused of accumulating, including 2,000 acres of land, 30 kilograms of gold and 12,000 saris, according to Indian news reports, tell the story of a leader whose tenure was marked by profligacy and panache. | The assets she is accused of accumulating, including 2,000 acres of land, 30 kilograms of gold and 12,000 saris, according to Indian news reports, tell the story of a leader whose tenure was marked by profligacy and panache. |
| In 1996, Ms. Jayaram, who followers call Amma, or mother, was accused of using state funds to pay for a lavish wedding for her foster son that featured acrobats, horsemen, shrines with her image in the place of Hindu deities and 20,000 police officers on special duty. She has maintained that the bride’s family bore the cost, local news media reported. | |
| The deftness with which she grabbed power and the strength with which she wielded it in India’s male-dominated political machinery left many amazed. She has also been a key ally for aspiring national leaders, including the current prime minister, Narendra Modi. Though their interactions have been cordial, she notably skipped his inauguration. | The deftness with which she grabbed power and the strength with which she wielded it in India’s male-dominated political machinery left many amazed. She has also been a key ally for aspiring national leaders, including the current prime minister, Narendra Modi. Though their interactions have been cordial, she notably skipped his inauguration. |
| Subramanian Swamy, a former minister and a member of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, initiated the corruption case against Ms. Jayaram in 1996. In 2001, during her second term in office, she was convicted in a separate land-acquisition case and forced to give up power for several months. She installed a successor widely seen as a figurehead and regained power in 2002. | Subramanian Swamy, a former minister and a member of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, initiated the corruption case against Ms. Jayaram in 1996. In 2001, during her second term in office, she was convicted in a separate land-acquisition case and forced to give up power for several months. She installed a successor widely seen as a figurehead and regained power in 2002. |
| It is a tactic she may use again to maintain influence within her party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. | It is a tactic she may use again to maintain influence within her party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. |
| “Whoever Amma nominates will be the chief minister, and that person will be completely remote-controlled,” Professor Venkatachalapathy said. “If she’s not on the scene, that’s a very different issue. If she continues to be in prison, her control over the party and the government cannot be absolute.” | “Whoever Amma nominates will be the chief minister, and that person will be completely remote-controlled,” Professor Venkatachalapathy said. “If she’s not on the scene, that’s a very different issue. If she continues to be in prison, her control over the party and the government cannot be absolute.” |
| Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party could use Ms. Jayaram’s absence to try to make inroads in a state that has traditionally resisted the national parties in favor of local politicians, Professor Venkatachalapathy said. | Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party could use Ms. Jayaram’s absence to try to make inroads in a state that has traditionally resisted the national parties in favor of local politicians, Professor Venkatachalapathy said. |
| Thousands of Ms. Jayaram’s supporters arrived at the court in Bangalore on Saturday to await the verdict, and the police blocked off some roads. As word of the verdict spread, shopkeepers in Chennai, about 200 miles to the east, closed their stores, and fights broke out between her supporters and detractors, The Hindu, an Indian newspaper, said. | Thousands of Ms. Jayaram’s supporters arrived at the court in Bangalore on Saturday to await the verdict, and the police blocked off some roads. As word of the verdict spread, shopkeepers in Chennai, about 200 miles to the east, closed their stores, and fights broke out between her supporters and detractors, The Hindu, an Indian newspaper, said. |
| “We could die for Amma,” said Raman Ramamurthy, 56, a supporter who was at the court on Saturday. “How will we survive in Tamil Nadu without her?” | “We could die for Amma,” said Raman Ramamurthy, 56, a supporter who was at the court on Saturday. “How will we survive in Tamil Nadu without her?” |