Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa needs were admitted to Apollo Hospital on September 22.

Doctors said that "the CM is making gradual progress". The update, provided by Doctors on Thursday evening, confirmed that "Ms. Jayalalithaa is on respiratory support and is being treated, including by a UK specialist, for lung problems."

At first, her party, the AIADMK, said "she was being treated for fever and dehydration. Its publicly-shared forecasts for when she is to leave hospital have repeatedly been proven wrong, escalating speculation of how unwell Ms. Jayalalithaa is."

There were large gaps in the information shared on the CMs health added to the uncertainty.

Yesterday, three doctors from Delhi's AIIMS hospital have joined the Chennai doctors attending to the former movie star who is one of the country's most powerful and popular politicians.

The AIADMK received some good news this morning with the Madras High Court ruling that the government does not need to make a formal statement on the Chief Minister's health or choose a stand-in for her while she is in a hospital.

Outside the Apollo Hospital, hundreds of fans of Ms. Jayalalithaa gathered in a mass vigil and said that they will not go home till they hear that the CM is better.

Ms. Jayalalithaa's opponents last week demanded that a photograph is released of her to confirm that she is well enough to remain in charge of the state. Governor C Vidyasagar Rao who visited Ms. Jayalalithaa in the hospital a few days ago has reportedly advised the party that a daily bulletin on her health is shared nightly by 8 pm.

The AIADMK has filed police cases against four people for misreporting the party chief's health on social media.

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BY M. DIVYA SRI