Thirty four people belonging to Kallakurichi district have died following consumption of 'methanol mixed arrack', Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Thursday.
Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls.
The AIADMK called Sasikala Pushpa's plea 'vindictive', stating that she did not challenge her expulsion from AIADMK.
AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday restructured the party's apex body.
Rajini-Kamal duo cannot do harm to the AIADMK-led alliance in the state electorally, Jayakumar said.
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Looming before it is a court case filed by 18 legislators dismissed by the speaker, challenging his decision and pointing out that in a similar situation 12 members of the O Panneerselvam faction were not dismissed, reports A Ganesh Nadar.
'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
"Peeche peeche aana hai (follow right behind)," was the message from Amit Shah to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, reports R Rajagopalan. There has been no discussion on the portfolios to be allotted, and it has been left to the discretion of the prime minister, reports R Rajagopalan.
Madusudanan had been removed from all posts besides the primary membership for going against the party principles and bringing disrepute to it, she said in a statement in Chennai.
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.
Party said the Opposition demand is a part of a 'planned campaign' against Sasikala.
As the merger brought to an end weeks of suspense during which there was tough negotiations, the two factions said steps would be taken to expel party chief V K Sasikala.
"It is all your imagination and guess work," a senior leader said when asked about reports of Sasikala taking over from Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam cadres on Wednesday attacked and injured the husband of expelled Member of Parliament Sasikala Pushpa, who was accused of trying to create a law-and-order problem ahead of Thursday's General Council meeting to elect a new general secretary.
'When someone gives you one kilo of gold you have some obligations to them'
While the DMK fears that the Congress with its poor strike rate will pull it down in the 2021 state elections, like it did five years ago, the ruling AIADMK is worried that the BJP may ultimately do a Bihar on it, relegating it to second place in Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
His comments come a day after state Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar claimed that 111 MLAs had attended the meet convened by the chief minister.
Coming out clear on its intent to go it alone in Puducherry, the AIADMK released its candidates list for all the 30 constituencies for the May 16 assembly polls.
The EPS camp believes that the BJP was already arm-twisting the AIADMK into conceding more seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections 'than they deserve' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
V K Sasikala, who was eased out of the AIADMK years ago, on Saturday paid homage at the mausoleum of former party supremo J Jayalalithaa here and cryptically remarked that she has 'unburdened' herself and the party has a bright future.
Partymen ignore the voices of dissent, Chinnamma set to be elected party chief unopposed.
Ramachandran, an OPS loyalist who took part in the meeting, said the former chief minister would soon meet VK Sasikala, the confidante of former party supremo J Jayalalithaa.
Whatever the circumstances the cadres will not let themselves be seen as challenging 'MGR's symbol'. It's an emotional identification for most of them, and many consider it an 'eternal sin' for them to defy 'Two Leaves', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
It has now asked Sasikala to either sign the response herself or by an authorised signatory who is in the commission's list of AIADMK office bearers and send it again by March 10.
The favourable apex court was a result of the 'divinity' of party stalwarts, the late Chief Ministers M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, he said at a mass wedding ceremony in Madurai.
Even as the unity moves between the two AIADMK factions seem to be going nowhere, former chief minister O Panneerselvam is working on a grand alliance of other Opposition parties, reports R Rajagopalan.
Future Gaming of lottery king Santiago Martin was the biggest purchaser of electoral bonds at Rs 1,368 crore, of which nearly 37 percent went to the DMK.
Sri Lanka is facing 'a very serious crisis' that makes India naturally worried, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday and dismissed suggestions about such a situation arising in India.
The detention of one person under the Act, however, was not revoked as he has many cases pending against him.
However, in the event of the Bharatiya Janata Party deciding to contest, his candidate would withdraw from the race, he said.
Panneerselvam indicated that he would support the move but laid down certain conditions, he said without divulging them. "I hope the two factions would sort out the differences soon," Annamalai said.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam led the strike against the Centre.
As some BJP pollsters concede, the Modi leadership's sweeping success in elections 2019, especially across central India, owed not to Hindutva ideology, but to welfare schemes, all of them borrowed from Tamil Nadu, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
The court said there was no infirmity in the poll panel's decision to allot the AIADMK name and two leaves symbol to the faction headed by Palaniswami.
Seeking to capitalise on the large number of non-Congress and non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties having "substantial support and strength in the country," the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Monday entered into an alliance in Tamil Nadu for Lok Sabha polls.
Panneerselvam's remark came a day after the two factions were squabbling and blaming each other for the delay in the talks getting off the ground.
The Madras high court on Thursday declared invalid the 2019 election of expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kaahagam member O P Ravindhranath from Tamil Nadu's Theni constituency.
The notices were served under the anti-defection law.
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.