Jayalalithaa Government completes two years on May 16

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Press Trust of India Chennai
Last Updated : May 14 2013 | 4:00 PM IST
Armed with the Cauvery tribunal verdict notification and a slew of populist measures ahead of the election year, the Jayalalithaa Government in Tamil Nadu enters its third year in office on May 16 with the AIADMK supremo setting her sights on a bigger role at the Centre.
Getting the 2007 final award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal that grants major share of the inter-state river water to Tamil Nadu notified in the Central gazette is seen as one of the most defining moments of Jayalalithaa's career.
On a direction from Supreme Court, the Centre in February notified the award which apportioned Cauvery water among four riparian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala.
The AIADMK supremo led her party to victory in all three by-elections after 2011 braving the biggest challenge of power shortage, a plank on which she rode to power decimating arch-rival DMK in the assembly elections two years ago.
The charismatic leader has made it clear that AIADMK will forge electoral alliance neither with Congress nor BJP for the coming Lok Sabha polls.
Making no secret of her ambitions to have a larger say at the Centre, she has inspired her partymen to work for netting all the 40 Lok Sabha seats (39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry) setting off growing "Jaya for PM" calls in AIADMK.
For Jayalalithaa, it was always hard bargaining with the UPA Government, of which the DMK remained a component till it pulled out recently over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
She shot off letters to the Prime Minister on various issues ranging from kerosene quota to rice allocation to power and Sri Lankan Tamils and attacks on fishermen.
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First Published: May 14 2013 | 4:00 PM IST

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