DMK president M. Karunanidhi remarked on Wednesday that AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa had given the Dravidian movement a new lease of life. This is perhaps the first attempt by the DMK to leverage her conviction in the disproportionate assets case. However, DMK may find it harder to use Jayalalithaa’s conviction to its advantage with the 2G case gaining momentum in New Delhi.

Media reports say that Karunanidhi Addressed DMK district secretaries and said Jayalalithaa had set out to destroy the movement which had nourished her. As everyone was wondering whether she could ever be stopped, she was convicted, giving an unintended fillip to the movement, he had added.

However, a senior DMK functionary has told The Hindu that an adverse verdict in the 2G case closer to the 2016 Assembly Elections would make it difficult for the party to use Jayalalithaa’s conviction as a poll issue.

The final arguments in the main 2G case, in which DMK President M. Karunanidhi’s daughter and MP, Kanimozhi, and former Telecom Minister A. Raja are accused, will begin in November. In the connected money-laundering case involving them, probed by the Enforcement Directorate, the framing of charges is set for this month.

A senior lawyer, on condition of anonymity, has told The Hindu that the observations of the Karnataka High Court when it dismissed Ms. Jayalalithaa’s bail petition were crucial for the 2G-related cases as well. Citing the Supreme Court, the High Court said cases of corruption against lawmakers were expected to be completed within a year of framing charges. Corruption would have to be viewed as human rights violations, the court said.

Some party leaders have told Indian media that the 2G shadow was looming large over the DMK and therefore there was no clear strategy as to how the Jayalalithaa conviction can be used to its advantage.