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MADRAS, India, March 2 (AFP) - Former actress Jayalalitha Jayaram was Saturday sworn in as chief minister of southern India's Tamil Nadu state, just five months after she was forced to step down from the post over corruption charges.

Jayalalitha took her oath of office in a colourful ceremony at the Madras University centenary hall, packed with hundreds of her political supporters shouting slogans and cheering.

Earlier, thousands more had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of Jayalalitha as she drove to the venue.

A huge television screen was fixed outside the hall to enable those party activists who could not find a seat inside to watch the ceremony live.

"I am unable to express my feelings at this time," Jayalalitha later told reporters after the hour-long ceremony had concluded.

"I feel an immense sense of gratitude towards the people of Tamil Nadu who have supported me and stood by me through thick and thin."

The controversial Jayalalitha was forced to step down as chief minister in September on the grounds that she was not a sitting member of the state legislature.

She had been barred from contesting elections in Tamil Nadu last May -- in which her party swept to power -- because of her corruption convictions, relating to her previous 1991-1996 tenure as chief minister.

In February 2000, she was sentenced to one year's hard labour but only served two months in jail. The convictions were later overturned, paving the way for her comeback. 

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