There is an impression within the Tamil Nadu BJP -- although no one is airing it -- that over-exposure for Narendra Modi over the past months may work against party candidates, as they have triggered a near-continuous social media debate on his achievements and failures, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
"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.
But the question before the leadership will be whether to retain the BJP alliance or dump it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
The party HQ, addressed as 'Thalamai Kazhagam' in Tamil, now has only banners of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.
The announcement was made by AIADMK coordinator and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and Union Minister and senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal, party election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, who described it as a "mega alliance".
Here is the glimpse of the political turn of events in the state
The BJP often forgets that in Dravidian Tamil Nadu, the voter does not mix religion, which is personal, and politics that is in the public sphere, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
According to DMK, the voters are already consolidated on ideological lines, hence the impact of anti-incumbency, whether against the BJP Centre or the DMK state may not be too much, notes 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.
The DMK chief said it was a 'resounding victory' given to his party led alliance by the people of Tamil Nadu.
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.
'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.
Party spokesperson said while Jaya was the "conscience" of her mentor M G Ramachandran, Sasikala was, likewise, her "conscience."
The decision to sack Raja, a former panchayat body chief hailing from Theni district, was announced by Panneerselvam and Joint Coordinator K Palaniswami.
Over the last five days, Modi visited all of south, held roadshows, made an aggressive bid for his party, and took on the rivals with full gusto, especially the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana that was in power for 10 years.
"The result of the RK Nagar bypoll is an outcome of the tacit understanding between DMK working president M K Stalin and Dinakaran," Panneerselvam and Palaniswami said in a joint statement on Sunday night.
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.
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.
In a state that usually plumbs for a Dravidian major, three candidates have a chance of delivering for the BJP, observes A Ganesh Nadar.
'We are not worried about raids. We have nothing to hide.'
The DMK also warned of legal action against those who attempt to link Sadiq with either the party or its leaders.
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.
He will be remembered for mustering the courage to take on former chief ministers and the state's political heavyweights M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa in the political arena on his own terms and also hold his own against them.
Miffed over the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's "approach" towards finalising a seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, the Communist Party of India - Marxist and the Communist Party of India on Thursday called off their month-old alliance with the Jayalalithaa-led party.
Since the demise of former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo and chief minister J Jayalalithaa in December last year, Tamil Nadu's political scenario has witnessed unprecedented drama. Following is the chronology of major events in the southern state's ruling party.
"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.
The BJP is now inventing new angles to keep its campaign relevant -- even if it's old wine in an old bottle, which is what the allegation on 'Katchatheevu' is, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Constituencies that are going to the polls in the first phase, slated for April 19, have just 19 days for campaigning. Contrast that with those going to polls in the 7th phase, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Is the unusually and unbearably scorching Sun and the general laxity, bordering on laziness, among voters, responsible, asks 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.
'When someone gives you one kilo of gold you have some obligations to them'
In the video clip, Shah can be seen talking to Soundararajan in an animated manner while gesturing with his finger.
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.
The meeting also discussed the validity of the appointments made by Sasikala before going to jail.
According to the police, the 30-year-old woman, identified as Anuradha, has suffered multiple fractures in both her legs after the truck ran over them. Anuradha, who works as an accountant at a hotel in Coimbatore, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala said her thoughts will continue to remain with the party even from inside the jail.
NEET is a court-ordered examination, supposedly aimed at meritocracy. However, over the past years when the incumbent Narendra Modi government at the Centre began implementing it, it took on political and casteist colours, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The bench said the report submitted by the special judge indicates that he has 29 cases with him. In many cases, the trial has begun while in many others the trial is yet to begin.
