Erode MP A Ganeshamurthi, who allegedly attempted suicide recently, died at a Coimbatore hospital on Thursday morning, sources from his party Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the police said.
The DMK combine has won 37 of the 38 LS constituencies in Tamil Nadu, and bagged 13 of the 22 assembly bypolls. What swept away the AIADMK-BJP alliance in the southern state was not dravidian ideology but job loss and graft bias, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Pattali Makkal Katchi said on Sunday that it has decided to snap ties with the front led by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa.All was not well in AIADMK-led front after Jayalalithaa recently gave permission to her party MLA C V Shanmugam to file a case in a court seeking to direct the police to include PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and his son and former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss in a murder case.
It is a sea of men clad in veshtis with distinctive party colour border design seeking votes with a smile and folded hands for their party candidates. The town is abuzz, with electioneering at its peak, and teeming trendy cars criss-cross the busy roads and bylanes bringing in more and more leaders from elsewhere for campaign.
O Panneerselvam may have a trick or two to spring a surprise.
The Tamil film industry won't forget Vijayakanth's large-heartedness, how he took care of fellow industry persons, male or female, rich or poor, young or old...recalls N Sathiya Moorthy. How he sent money quietly for the family of a stunt artiste to meet his funeral expenses, how he always ensured that all female co-stars, including junior artistes, had secure accommodation on outdoor shoots, and how he would always the first to rush help if anyone from the fraternity was in distress.
A document filed by her AK Bose, the Thirupparankundram candidate, showed the Tamil Nadu chief minister's thumb impressions in the designated space for signature.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam led the strike against the Centre.
The campaign has gathered steam for the June 27 bypoll contest in Tamil Nadu featuring Chief Minister Jayalalithaa as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam workers are going all out to ensure her victory against the lone Communist Party of India challenger.
A poster put out by an expelled AIADMK party man in Chennai threatening Kannadigas living in Tamil Nadu if convicted party chief Jayalalithaa was not released from jail has created a flutter amidst the common populace.
The ruling AIADMK is leaving no stone unturned to win the Vellore Lok Sabha poll and push its tally to two in the state, with its candidate even donning the skull cap to woo minority votes. But the DMK's stars are clearly on the ascendant in the lone constituency that goes to the polls on August 5. A Ganesh Nadar reports.
CM Stalin has a procedural problem. Nominating new ministers would entail his having to seek formal permission from governor R N Ravi. Stalin does not want to interact with the person of this governor, as far as possible, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Allotting seven seats to smaller allies, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Monday released the list naming candidates for the rest of 227 seats for which she held interviews for ticket aspirants from across Tamil Nadu in the past two weeks.
'We were not protesting for a wage hike or provident fund. We were protesting for the safety of the larger population. There is no personal gain.'
In a week from now, December 21, voters in R K Nagar in Chennai will decide who their MLA will be.
Strongly defending former chief minister and party supremo Jayalalithaa's aide V K Sasikala, ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday said there is nothing wrong in its leaders calling on her as she is a key member and asserted a person would soon be elected to the top post of General Secretary.
Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran sought to play down party's decision.
Arjunan claimed that some persons belonging to the DMK in the guise of public abused him and his mother.
The by-elections to 18 assembly constituencies will decide if the ruling AIADMK remains in power or not.
Neither the ruling DMK nor the fractured AIADMK Opposition anticipated that an assembly by-election would put them both to test, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Emerging from a "consultative" meeting chaired by Chief Minister E K Palaniswami, Finance Minister D Jayakumar declared that the "unanimous" decision was taken in tune with the aspirations of the party cadres and people.
'As Karunanidhi and Ramadoss flagged the law and order issue, Subramanian Swamy said Home Minister Rajnath Singh should send Chief Minister O Panneerselvam a directive under Article 246 of the Constitution. Swamy also dangled the fear of Article 356 over the state government.'
Key Dinakaran aide and legislator P Vetrivel said they would meet the governor at 10 am on Tuesday.
For now, the DMK can be expected to sound the bugle for Opposition unity at the national level, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Will Vijay will go the most successful MGR/Jayalalithaa way, or that of Vijayakanth, Seeman or Kamalahaasan, or will he end up as another Rajinikanth who cries wolf at the last minute and quits the scene even before it all had really begun, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu assembly on Wednesday witnessed uproarious scenes when DMK members strongly protested remarks made by a ruling AIADMK member apparently ridiculing Leader of Opposition M K Stalin, culminating in their en masse eviction and suspension.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday warned the Bharatiya Janata Party not to 'provoke' the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, saying it will not be able to 'bear the consequences' and that his party also knows 'all types of politics', escalating his attack on the saffron party after the arrest of his cabinet colleague V Senthil Balaji.
'The others have been looting the people all these years. If you don't do that, you can do a lot for the people,' says Tamil star politician Vijayakanth.
The BJP has nothing to lose after a point. For the DMK it is a difficult choice, as it would not want to give too much of space to a 'national party' lest the 'Dravidian duel' of the past decades should be lost forever, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Bypolls in three assembly constituencies in as many states passed off peacefully on Monday with around over 70 per cent voter turnout, though some technical glitches in electronic voting machine were reported in Tamil Nadu and the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal alleged that the Central Reserve Police Force was "influencing" voters.
Fighting as an independent, Dinakaran was up against ruling AIADMK's E Madhusudanan and DMK's N Maruthu Ganesh.
The Congress on Thursday secured a seat in the present Bengal assembly as its candidate Bayron Biswas won the Sagardighi bypoll, defeating the nearest rival of the Trinamool Congress by 22,980 votes.
'Both the DMK and ADMK are equally to blame.' 'When the question is violence against Dalits, they don't take measures to protect Dalits.'
A day after Election Commission announced bypoll for the RK Nagar assembly constituency from where chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa is likely to contest, DMK chief Karunanidhi on Wednesday said his party has decided not to contest the by-election.
In signs of thaw on All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam merger move, the factions led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and the one by O Panneerselvam on Friday announced formation of their respective committees to hold discussions.
What some of our political leaders were up to on Monday.
In the video, the former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo is seen holding a glass and drinking from it, while reportedly watching TV.
The chief government whip on Thursday sought their disqualification for alleged anti-party activities.
The DMK's campaign appeared to be the most visible with propaganda at a feverish pace across the segment for the April 6 assembly polls and Stalin is the party's chief minister candidate.
An interesting multi-cornered contest is on the cards for the urban local body elections in Tamil Nadu scheduled for February 19 with opposition parties, which were with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam till a few days ago, set to take on the ruling DMK banking on their respective party's own strength.