V K Sasikala, late J Jayalalithaa's confidante would return to Tamil Nadu on February 7 from Bengaluru and a grand welcome from party cadres awaited her right from the state's border, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary T T V Dinakaran said in Madurai on Wednesday.
A formal decision would be made on the Chief Ministerial candidate of the NDA once the Election Commission issues the notification for the assembly elections, expected in April-May, he said, adding the strategy was part of the ongoing exercise to strengthen the BJP in the state.
Mamata Banerjee predicts the BJP-led NDA will not get more than 150 seats in the next Lok Sabha election.
Top BJP leaders, including its president Amit Shah, reached out to their allies as well as other parties with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar expressing confidence that the government will get support from 'new' parties.
The home minister said he was deeply pained at the loss of precious lives during the agitation at Tuticorin.
The country is all set for the second round of elections on April 18 in the ongoing seven-phase Lok Sabha polls that will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament. Going to polls in the second phase will be 95 seats in 12 states and one Union Territory. Here is a look at some of the big names contesting in phase two of Lok Sabha elections.
The Election Commission said July 18 is the last date to file nomination paper.
'The central learning of the day was that if the BJP leadership can cajole, coax and convince regional parties to vote for bills, it would not be a stretch to see the same votes cast in favour of the land bill,' a senior Congress leader from a northern state told Rediff.com
The Delhi high court on Wednesday directed Facebook and Google to remove alleged derogatory material related to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sasikala Pushpa who claimed that her image was being tarnished by purported morphed photos and videos with a man on social media.
For the first time in three decades, Nungambakkam, a core city area recorded 8 cmin a single day and suburban Red Hills 13 cm followed by 12 cm in Perambur, also in the city.
'I was invited to join the BJP, and I felt respected when they called me.'
Party sources indicated that there may be a meeting at the party headquarters on Monday where decisions could be made by the Palaniswami camp on the question of the "formal expulsion" of V K Sasikala.
The never-before performance, a clean sweep by the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa-headed party coming on a day when she completed three years in office, decimated her opponents, particularly arch-rival DMK, and put her in the driver's seat for the assembly polls due exactly two years from now
Dharmapuri district Child Welfare Officer J Raja Meenakshi has filed a complaint with the Chennai city police alleging that the minister demanded Rs 20 lakh to transfer her to Chennai.
With the presidential elections over, the time has come for Prime Minister Modi to show Tamil Nadu that the state's interests are safe under him, says R Rajagopalan.
Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai appealed to the newly appointed party general secretary V K Sasikala to become Tamil Nadu chief minister, saying the leadership in both the party and governance should be with the same person.
Rahul Gandhi's birthday greeting to the DMDK supremo signifies that the Congress vice president is expanding his ambit of functioning and graduating from handling just organisational affairs, reports Anita Katyal.
The Government on Friday managed to have its way in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam when the panel approved the draft report giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram with a 16-11 vote in its favour.
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.
After a gap of 10 years, the DMK snatched the reins of power from arch rival AIADMK, with its president M K Stalin leading the party to a stellar performance and in the process, helming the state as chief minister for the first time.
The BJP and the AIADMK are unable to sort out ideological differences, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu, which boasted of as many as nine ministers in the UPA-II government in 2009, did not get any representation in Modi 2.0 government.
Besides the SAD, the SP, the AIADMK and the TRS supported the idea; while the AAP, the TDP, the JD-S, the AIFB, the DMK, the TMC, the GFP and Left parties opposed it.
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.
Bettering the promise of monthly payouts to homemakers by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the DMK, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam on Friday assured Rs 3,000 "value rights assistance" to them in its manifesto for the April 6 assembly polls, but maintained it was not a dole.
A division bench, comprising Justices M Duraiswamy and Sundar Mohan, set aside an order of a single judge, which nullified the July 11 General Council (GC) meeting of the AIADMK.
The meeting also discussed the validity of the appointments made by Sasikala before going to jail.
The counsel told the HC that one of the MLAs had written to the governor and the DGP stating that he had escaped from confinement.
Purohit eventually cleared them only after obtaining legal opinion from the state Advocate General.
Fighting heavy odds, J Jayalalithaa proved her detractors wrong again with her grit and determination as she steered the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to power for a second consecutive term, bucking the tradition since 1989 when no party has retained power in Tamil Nadu.
AIADMK leaders want Chinamma to succeed Amma as party general secretary, but it is not a done deal yet.
Undisclosed income has been detected in respect of 10 assessee groups which included those linked to AIADMK leader V K Sasikala.
Amit Shah said simultaneous polls would curb expenditure.
The last leg of poll campaign saw many national leaders canvassing for their parties.
Siddaramaiah said she could have approached any of her superiors about her charges against senior officials.
'This is the real purpose behind the arrest, and it is not about controlling corruption.' 'It is like taking Amit Shah into custody before the 2024 elections.' 'How will it affect the BJP's election machinery?'
Panneerselvam also wanted withdrawal of affidavits submitted to the Election Commission declaring Sasikala and Dinakaran as party general secretary and deputy general secretary, respectively.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday made his prime ministerial ambitions known, saying he is more qualified and experienced than those "roaming around" for the top job.
Accompanied by BJP national general secretary and party in-charge of poll-bound Tamil Nadu, C T Ravi, and Murugan, with his security detail in tow, the home minister warmly waved at the overjoyed supporters who had thronged the airport since the morning.
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