AIADMK workers throng hospital, pray for Jayalalithaa

Scores of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) workers on Monday gathered at the Apollo Hospitals, where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is undergoing treatment after suffering cardiac arrest, with some wailing and other looking dejected over the news of the deterioration in their leader's health.

Party workers from several districts like Parimala of Tiruvannamalai and Subramanian of North Chennai, who arrived at the hospital, said that "We are waiting. We are confident that we will get good news soon."

Some people milling around the hospital premises, including AIADMK workers, were seen praying seeking divine intervention so that their party chief  Jayalalithaa recovers.

Sixty-eight-year-old Jayalalithaa has been put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a heart assist device, and was under the watch of experts, including cardiologists.

State ministers, including Senior Minister P Thangamani and other top AIADMK functionaries like B Valarmathi, who arrived at the hospital earlier, left for a brief while and returned.

Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan enquired about Jayalalithaa's health with hospital authorities and AIADMK leaders.

Rajini, an elder woman party worker from Jayalalithaa's RK Nagar constituency, was seen praying fervently, tears flowing down her cheeks. She was joined by scores of party women workers from RK Nagar.

With more and more people reaching the premises and lining up the approach roads, it resulted in traffic congestion in the neighbourhood.

Police are having a tough time in regulating the crowd and ensuring that patients are not inconvenienced even as the hospital remained under tight security cover.

Though the state government has not announced closure of schools and educational institutions, some of them remained closed as the managements took a decision in this regard. Even in schools that were open, thin attendance was reported.

Shops and commercial establishments largely remained open, police said.