R Rajagopalan predicts that Tamil Nadu won't have single party rule for the first time in its history.
Tamil Nadu parties are using Hindi to woo north Indian voters in the upcoming elections.
There will be 2,364 counting halls as compared to 1,002 halls in 2016 in 822 assemble constituencies, a more than 200 percent increase, in view of the COVID guidelines, according to the Election Commission which had drawn flak from the courts over the conduct of polls during the pandemic.
Both the BJP and the Congress have banked on new and young faces, some of whom have been nominated by the parties for the first time.
From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 37 seats, the AIADMK has to now contend with single digit tally, pushed to the third spot behind arch rival DMK and Congress despite fighting the polls as part of a "mega alliance" with parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Sun Network has shifted its regional news depts to respective state capitals and is also planning to shift its HQ, following a fallout with DMK party.
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.
The former union telecom minister in his 'interim explanation' said he had not spoken anything 'obscene' or which would lower the dignity of women and motherhood.
The BJP promised revival of the legislative council in Tamil Nadu, which was abolished decades ago by its ally, the ruling AIADMK, if their combine was voted to power in the coming assembly elections.
There will be no second term for President Kovind and no elevation for Vice President Naidu.
In an apparent bid to woo the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, All India Anna Drravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Jayalalithaa on Thursday asked that party to snap ties with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and withdraw its support to the Karunanidhi government.
'They plan to purchase votes.' 'We will not purchase people, but win the elections.' 'In our manifesto there are no free gifts. It says what we will do for the people.'
Twitter users flooded the social network with messages against the move, making #StopHindiImposition and #TNAgainstHindiImposition the top trends on platform.
'Jayalalithaa could not do what MGR did, and Sasikala will not be able to do what Jayalalithaa did.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam would decide on accommodating V K Sasikala, confidante of late chief minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa, in the ruling party-led alliance for the April 6 assembly polls.
If the DMK under Stalin is unable to do well in the Lok Sabha elections, his personal and political standing in the party will be threatened. But if the party does well, Stalin is the next kingmaker to watch out for. T E Narasimhan and Aditi Phadnis report.
After an unsavoury courtroom battle, his party won to secure for him the final resting place at the Chennai landmark
The party's general secretary, E Ahmed, said, "The IUML is quitting the AIADMK front and is prepared to swim or sink with the DMK."
Rajinikanth will announce his decision by the end of this month through a video message on his Twitter handle.
Rail and road blockade, demonstrations, and impromptu rallies by the Opposition marked the shutdown in the state affecting normal life to some extent.
Stalin, whose party has a strength of 89 members in the 234-member house, claimed his efforts were not aimed at taking DMK to power nor was there any intention of enjoying posts.
The case of the two Shiv Sena factions for legitimacy and the party symbol, 'Bow and Arrow', is now before the Election Commission. Whichever way the EC findings go, the other can be expected to move the Supreme Court. They would need a final verdict before the parliamentary polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Don't try to impose anything on us.'
The court order is seen as a major embarrassment for the AIADMK as Palaniswami will be the first chief minister in the state to face a CBI probe over corruption charges.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Tuesday once again adopted the anti-NEET Bill, returned days ago to the government by Governor RN Ravi, with the ruling Dravida Munentra Kazhagam and principal opposition All India Anna DK reaffirming their opposition to the test.
The AIADMK bagged 134 seats as counting of votes was taken up for 232 of the 234 assembly constituencies. Polling in two constituencies has been postponed to May 23.
Speaking in unison, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munettra Kazhagam and other parties in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday condemned the Centre's stand on continued training of Sri Lankan military, with All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief castigating government for 'insensitivity' and the DMK accusing it of hurting Tamils.
Sonia Gandhi hit out at the BJP for being determined to destroy constitutional values.
Nineteen political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, received over Rs 1,100 crore during assembly polls in five states and Union territories in 2021 and spent over Rs 500 crore, a big chunk of which went towards advertisements and travel expenses for star campaigners, a study said on Friday.
Senior Congress leaders admit that the JPC issue has boomeranged against the party, reports Renu Mittal.
Terming Saturday as a "black day" for democracy, the senior DMK leader urged all those who wanted to "remove" the "anti- democratic" All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government to join him.
The BJP will be the obvious gainer while the DMK will lose a major chunk of its vote bank.
Opposition parties on Thursday charged the government with failing to effectively handle various crucial issues ranging from the condition of Tamils in Sri Lanka to terrorism.
On Saturday, in locations including Korukkupet at R K Nagar allegations of cash distribution were made against some men, whose identity was not known immediately.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Members of Parliament on Thursday shouted slogans over Sri Lankan Tamil issue during the maiden address of President Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa Monday announced five of her party nominees for the June 27 biennial election to the six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu, giving V Maithreyan a successive term.
While Rahul Gandhi led Congress has a pan Indian presence, Naidu described regional leaders, including himself, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Stalin and Deve Gowda as strong leaders in their respective states, who are coming together against the BJP.
Parliament was disrupted for the eleventh day on Wednesday following uproar over coal block allocation as the Bharatiya Janata Party stuck to its demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The stalemate in Parliament over coal block allocations entered its tenth day on Tuesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party persisted with its demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till noon after the Opposition triggered ruckus on the issue.
