Among the people waiting to catch a first glimpse, are many from Mr Raja's hometown Perambalur and his constituency, the Nilgiris. They have carried large posters that extol their leader as a "flame of self-respect." Mr Raja is a senior leader from the DMK; his alleged role as ringmaster of the telecom or 2G scam played a large role in his party's defeat in the Tamil Nadu election last year.
He spent a little over a year in jail; he is being tried in a Delhi court for breach of trust by a public servant, cheating and criminal conspiracy. He was granted bail last month, and received court permission to travel to Tamil Nadu and stay there till the end of this month.
His first stop in Chennai will be the DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam to meet his party chief M Karunanidhi.
Sources close to him say Mr Raja will stay at his Chennai residence on Friday and Saturday. He is likely to visit his constituency on Sunday, where a large reception has been planned.
On Wednesday, Mr Raja, who is known for his proximity to his party president, and remains the DMK's Propaganda Secretary, is likely to join Mr Karunanidhi at a public meeting in Tiruvarur as part of the DMK chief's birthday celebrations.
Soon after Mr Raja's arrest last year, and before the Tamil Nadu elections, the DMK had projected Mr Raja as a visionary who ensured that mobile phone services were made affordable to the common man. He was described as a martyr who was being punished for being a Dalit.
With the Lok Sabha elections due in two years, political observers are curious to see how the DMK will handle his profile during his visit to Tamil Nadu.
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