Is the unusually and unbearably scorching Sun and the general laxity, bordering on laziness, among voters, responsible, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
As proof of the potential outcome, AIADMK sources pointed to the election of TDP's C M Ramesh to the prestigious PAC, which was enabled by the Opposition voting for him.
AIADMK-Amma led by Palaniswami accused the O Panneerselvam faction of "refusing" to come for talks.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M K Stalin will try his luck once again from Kolathur constituency in Chennai in the April 6 Tamil Nadu assembly elections while his son Udhayanidhi will make his electoral debut by contesting from the Chepauk-Triplicane segment in the metropolis.
Movie stars Kamal Haasan and Gautami campaign for candidates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Tamil Nadu, which goes to the polls on Friday, April 19, 2024.
Incumbent DMK MP T Sumathy alias Tamizhachi Thangapandian will face-off former Telangana Governor and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan, while the the AIADMK has fielded ex-MP Dr J Jayavardhan, who won from here in 2014.
"To protect AIADMK, everybody should join hands with OPS (Panneerselvam)," Madusudanan said, adding that he did not want the party to get into the hands of a single family.
Though EPS has sworn peace for now, or so it seems, his camp is said to be considering the possibility of calling an early meeting of the party's general council, to get a mandate in his favour before things went out of control. Ground-level indications are that OPS had lost his limited base, which alone had forced him to patch up with the other, reportedly at the instance of the BJP ally at the Centre, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
In the Doordarshan Kendra Chennai's Hindi month valedictory function, a sentence Thekkanamum adhil sirantha Dravida nal thiru naadum went missing when the singers sang the anthem at the DD Tamil office in Chennai.
In private, questions are being raised about the wisdom of a 'dual-SIM' leadership during the long run-up to the 2026 assembly polls where 'family rule' could become an election issue, reports N Sathiya Moorthy.
The DMK chief said it was a 'resounding victory' given to his party led alliance by the people of Tamil Nadu.
His likable boy-next-door face and casual approach to public speaking have a unique appeal for the younger generation, but it stops there, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The ruling DMK has already announced it will file a review petition against the November 8 five-judge Supreme Court bench upholding the 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections.
Party spokesperson said while Jaya was the "conscience" of her mentor M G Ramachandran, Sasikala was, likewise, her "conscience."
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.
'We have done nothing wrong and I don't understand why they are sending a notice'
The Members suspended included K Ashok Kumar, R K Bharathi Mohan, M Chandrakasi, Jayakumar Jayavardhan, K Parasuraman, Dr K Kamraj, P Kumar, M Vasanti, C Mahendram, K Margatham and P Nagarajan.
O Paneerselvam did not even sit in Jayalalithaa's office chamber and left her seat vacant in the assembly. This time Amma is not coming back and he has a large number of challenges awaiting him.
The party HQ, addressed as 'Thalamai Kazhagam' in Tamil, now has only banners of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.
Wednesday's Vikravandi by-election has become a referendum on the Stalin government, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The recent 'revelation' by TN fishers freed by Sri Lanka after they had paid up Lankan rupees 50,000 each in fines, that their hair was tonsured in prison and they were forced to remove their garments other than the underpants, and were also made to clean toilets, as if with vengeance, has touched a raw nerve this time, just as another issue or issues had done it ahead of the Jallikattu protests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
In a state that usually plumbs for a Dravidian major, three candidates have a chance of delivering for the BJP, observes A Ganesh Nadar.
Both OPS and EPS say positive results are expected soon.
The meeting of the newly-elected MLAs to elect the legislature party leader, the second within three days, reportedly saw exchanges on who should lead the party in the House with one section pitching for Palaniswami and the other for coordinator O Panneerselvam.
Forty-two of the 102 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the general election's first phase are constituencies that have three or more candidates facing criminal cases, according to a poll rights body.
'Of equal importance was the AIADMK's precarious assembly membership, what with 11 of its MLAs including deputy chief minister OPS facing court cases for disqualification and by-elections due in another 21. To shore up the party's numbers for anticipated eventuality on the 11-MLAs' front, the AIADMK leadership in general and chief minister EPS in particular, were even more focussed on assembly seats than LS seats, just now,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'They have not mentioned the word minorities. They say scholarships will be given to marginalised communities'
Higher education policy may be at the core of the Tamil Nadu assembly polls next May, with a potential to break the ties between the ruling AIADMK in the state and the BJP counterpart at the national level, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A video clip of two Dravida Munnetra Kazagam men removing and throwing away two flex boards embossed with the name and picture of 'Amma' from a state-run canteen in Chenani went viral on Tuesday and they were expelled from the party.
'We are not worried about raids. We have nothing to hide.'
The meeting also discussed the validity of the appointments made by Sasikala before going to jail.
AIADMK insiders see the very idea of an NDA conclave as a measure of the BJP's current electoral assessment, stemming from relative weakness in 2024 compared to 2014 and 2019. In their reckoning, the BJP now needs allies more than the other way round, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
By aligning with the BJP, even if they were arm-twisted into doing so, the AIADMK leadership has yielded their political space in the state to the aunt-nephew duo of Sasikala-Dinakaran, and the parliamentary election to the DMK-Congress combine, says A Ganesh Nadar.
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.
Under the deal, the PMK will be supporting the AIADMK in the bypolls expected to 21 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, he said.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday once again passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to exempt the state from National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and allow it to admit students to medical courses based on Plus Two exam marks.
A new entrant, whether a popular actor or not, has not been able to sweep the polls, as their fans had hoped for. Given a proven pattern, it should hold true for Vijay as well. Or, something drastically has to happen between now and 2026, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala said her thoughts will continue to remain with the party even from inside the jail.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
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