Meanwhile, a central intelligence estimate has put the toll at 30 besides four suicide attempts.
Get your low down on what's happening in the world of Malayalam cinema, right here!
'What the Sabarimala majority verdict has done is to elevate the principle of equality over all others, including the right to worship, and declared that this will be the litmus test of all practices, and re-emphasise that practices that are ultra vires will be junked,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
This time round, even 'petrol coupons' were reportedly distributed for those attending campaign rallies, especially those addressed by top leaders, cutting across party lines. If this owed to the rising cost of petrol and diesel -- which is a poll issue this time -- there were the customary coupons for 'quarter' (liquor bottle size) and non-vegetarian biryani. Some media reports claimed that some of these 'crowds' attended more than one political rally on the same day in the last week, and at times for rival political parties in adjoining constituencies or districts, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
The by-elections to 18 assembly constituencies will decide if the ruling AIADMK remains in power or not.
The participation of the two veteran actors assumes significance in view of their recent statements suggesting that they could be joining politics.
Manwani said HUL was using technology across the value chain from manufacturing to distribution, marketing and advertising in its endeavour to be future-ready.
OPS said Jayalalithaa had turned the AIADMK into 'an iron fortress which cannot be shaken by anyone'.
Producer-director Gunnam Gangaraju on his latest Telugu film starring Genelia and newcomer Arun.
Teja is among the 12 personalities from the Telugu film industry summoned by the SIT.
A recent Salem event was perhaps the first time many in the crowd were seeing Jayalalithaa in person in the past five years. A brief stint in jail had made her more reclusive. But none of that seemed to matter.
TTV Dinakaran's road to reaching the poll stage could still be strewn with legal difficulties, as much as political problems from other new players, like actors Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The hospital, where the AIADMK general secretary was admitted on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration, said she was "constantly being monitored".
AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala said her thoughts will continue to remain with the party even from inside the jail.
"We will work together jointly as two hands of AIADMK in future for the people of Tamil Nadu. He asked for justice. I too ask the same," Deepa told reporters.
If Muslims face trouble I will be the first person to raise voice for them, says the Tamil superstar.
From planting seedlings to holding feasts and shutting down 500 liquor shops, Tamil Nadu government is going all out to uphold Jayalalithaa's fame on her 69th birth anniversary.
Tamil Nadu's politics returns to being bi-polar, and that's a good thing, says B Srikumar.
Even though V K Sasikala's relatives may be calling the shots within the AIADMK and the Tamil Nadu government now, the 'Mannargudi clan' doesn't have a future in state politics, reports R Rajagopalan.
Mariyadhai is full of stock situations and trite dialogues but can satisfy Vijaykanth's fans.
Pon Radhakrishnan also stated that Naxals, Maoists and Muslim extremists may have intruded into some of the media houses too.
As the year winds down and we start to look forward to the coming year, there are some personalities and events that shaped 2016 -- some struck the right chord whilst others triggered debates, controversies and set rumour mills churning. This year, we, at Rediff.com, have imagined our this year's newsmakers as movie stars and here's them as the stars of some of Hollywood and Bollywood's finest (in some cases, not really).
Rediff readers tell us what their mothers mean to them.
It's never to late to squeeze in a quick trip this month.
On the face of it, the first round has gone to Edappadi K Palaniswami. Not only has he been named chief ministerial candidate, that too by his one-time bete noire Panneerselvam, he also gets one member more in the steering committee than OPS. He can now hope to wean away one or more members of the OPS team in the steering committee just as he had done with other leaders in the latter's camp, post-reunification. That was also OPS's concern, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
If the people of Tamil Nadu stop deifying their leaders and start evaluating them more objectively, the political masters too may change their wayward behaviour, argues Sudhir Bisht.
A senior political commentator has said that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha is the modern 'Mahishasur Mardini' who has taken birth to trounce the Congress in Tamil Nadu.
Ahead of VK Sasikala's return to Tamil Nadu on February 8, there are some important questions facing her. One, does she carry electoral weight more now than her brainchild AMMK had in the 2019 LS polls? Two, can she retain or build upon the five per cent vote-share from that time? And finally, is there space for Sasikala to retrieve, first within the AIADMK and then across the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We are being told that to cushion our energy needs from the volatile oil market, we need nuclear power. That's hogwash: Our power sector is not dependent on oil.'
Twenty: 20, the mother of all multi-starrers comprising all the leading artists of Malayalam cinema, spreads an interesting smorgasbord.
By itself the event may not amount to much, but what it indicates is a changing, assertive, public doesn't want to be taken for a ride anymore.
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.
Madurai (South) MLA SS Saravanan alleged that party MLAs "were being detained" at the Koovathur resort and claimed he had given a slip by wearing a "t-shirt and Bermuda (shorts)".
The DMK chief said it was a 'resounding victory' given to his party led alliance by the people of Tamil Nadu.
In Karunanidhi's passing the real loser is Tamil Nadu and Tamil language. So far there is no one on the horizon to fill the vacuum left behind by him, says R Rajagopalan.
'I expect normalcy to return in one or two days,' says Tuticorin's new Collector Sandeep Nandur.
The canteens would come up in and around industrial areas, hospitals, educational institutions and commercial hubs.
OPS also requested the EC to restarin Sisikala's pick Dindigul C Sreenivasan from functioning as the party treasurer
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa followers are waiting with bated breath as the Supreme Court will hear the bail petition of the former Tamil Nadu chief minister, who has been in a Bangalore jail for almost two weeks after she was convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to four years in jail.
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