It is the PM’s first visit to Chennai since he took office, not counting a brief stopover last June, when he met Ms Jayalalithaa at the airport for 15 minutes. The last time PM Modi visited Poes Garden was not to meet Ms Jayalalithaa, but her famous neighbour film star Rajnikanth, while campaigning for the national elections.
Tamil Nadu votes for a new assembly in 2016, and PM Modi’s BJP has been looking to spread its influence in the southern state. In the national election that brought the party to power last year, Tamil Nadu was one state where it could make not a dent, despite knitting an alliance of several regional parties.
Ms Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK had won 37 of the state’s 39 seats, making it the third-largest contingent of lawmakers in the Lok Sabha, only seven less than national party Congress.
PM Modi and Ms Jayalalithaa have for long been seen to enjoy cordial relations – she had once described him as a “very good friend” – and there was intense speculation that the AIADMK would join the BJP-led government at the centre, last year. But it did not.
However, the party has consistently provided support to the central government on key issues in Parliament. The Modi government is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha or upper house and depends on the support of regional parties like the AIADMK to push through key legislation.
In the past the two leaders have attended each other’s oath ceremonies as chief minister, though Ms Jayalalithaa skipped PM Modi’s oath ceremony last May to protest against his invitation to then Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is accused by Tamil Nadu parties of war crimes.
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