Just when the media fraternity and political pundits were beginning to appreciate the orders of Chief Minister J. Jayalaithaa to not install flex banners on roads during her swearing-in ceremony, the Amma banners that had mushroomed in the city have certainly raised many an eyebrows, with the new government being barely three days old.

The AIADMK is well known for its giant flex banners and posters. They were visible everywhere during the previous five years rule of the AIADMK, between 2011 and 2016.

While Amma’s face and name were found in all the government offices and even in relief materials, her party cadre celebrated each year by putting up giant banners explaining her welfare schemes. Such banners welcomed her everywhere she went, even during her trips to the Bengaluru Special Court which convicted her in the disproportionate assets case.

It therefore came as a surprise when Jayalalithaa reportedly gave a strong direction to the party cadre to not put up any flex banners on the roads while she took oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the sixth time, the most by any. Only party flags and party cadre were seen lining up on the sides of the road from her residence in Poes Garden to the University of Madras, where she was sworn in.

The move was widely lauded by political pundits and media. Jayalalithaa’s unexpected bonhomie with Stalin, her statement that she was willing to work with the DMK in the development of the state, and reported arrangements made to accommodate DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi furthered fueled the hope. Karunanidhi, who had not attended the assembly for a long time citing lack of seating arrangements, ventured into the assembly on Wednesday.

The media explained that the bonhomie was inevitable with the opposition being so strong. Never in the history of Tamil Nadu, was an opposition so huge, with 98 members of which 89 were from the same party.

And then the banners appeared, praising the CM on her achievements on the first day of her new governance. In some parts of the city, the banners also carried the names of the Home Minister of Tamil Nadu S.P. Velumani, and Amman K. Arjunan, the party MLA from the Coimbatore North Constituency.

Mentioning the five schemes, which she had signed immediately after assuming office, the Chief Minister was lauded for her historic win after she became the Chief Minister for the second consecutive terms, a feat achieved by her mentor M.G. Ramachandran 32 years ago.