Contest on their own and get washed out, as happened in the 2016 assembly elections? Or contest in league with one of the Dravidian majors and get submerged under its election symbol? With elections looming, minor political parties in Tamil Nadu are caught in this dilemma, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The front-runner of course is party treasurer and long-serving party legislator, S Duraimurugan. A Vanniar by caste from the rival PMK-strong northern belt, Duraimurugan makes up for his weak political grounding through his debating skills in the assembly, and witty repartee, both inside and outside. Apart from caste and regional representation, personal loyalty to the leader would count even more -- but there is no death of loyal and competent candidates in the party for the post, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'My party men discouraged me from visiting Kaliachak because all kind of people were part of the mob and they feared that someone could shoot at me.' 'Criminals were involved in burning the police station and then attacking Baliadanga to give it a communal colour.'
the money involved is more than Rs 2,000 crore across Andhra Pradesh
'The appointment of 60 priests from the Dalit community is a historic moment.' 'Imagine this is happening in Kerala when Dalits are not even allowed to enter temples in some states even today.'
Venu Muruvelil reports on the Outrage over thriving child marriages in Kerala as the state government looks the other way.
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.
The order is is contrary to the Central Information Commission's directive bringing six national parties under the transparency law.
BJP strategists need to remember even at this late hour that 'negativism' sells when you are in the Opposition as the Indian voter has mostly voted anti-incumbency, and not when you are in power. You still needed to highlight your achievements and promises, and let the voter draw his conclusions, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's arch rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and main opposition party in the state Assembly Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam are finally set to fight it out to bag the sixth seat in the June 27 biennial elections for the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu.
From lining up allies to having them accept him as the Opposition's prime ministerial candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's real challenge has just begun, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Political observers feel that the outcome of the elections weighs in favour of the BJP which had won a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, held earlier this year.
In a climbdown, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, spearheading an indefinite bandh in Darjeeling hills for the last 10 days to demand Gorkhaland state, on Mondy said it would not use force to enforce the shutdown but a 'janata curfew' would be held as announced from Tuesday.
'It is true that we changed our opinion.' 'I feel the BJP or any other political party is guilty of not understanding the real mood of the people.'
Zee5 is now the fifth largest streaming app after YouTube, Hotstar, MX Player and Voot, and there is talk of hiving off Zee5 to drive valuation, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
'From 10 am on Tuesday to 3 am this morning, we must have made not less than a thousand phone calls.' 'We kept fighting till the end and we did not leave the room till we got 113 certificates.' 'Two-three losses would have changed the game and the BJP wanted to become the largest party which they did not become.'
The government on Thursday said it will respond on the issue of Shiv Sena MPs force-feeding a fasting Muslim after ascertaining full facts by Friday.
West Bengal government on Wednesday moved an appeal before a division bench of Calcutta High Court challenging a single bench order that directed registration of an FIR against Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal for his controversial comments against women and a CID probe into it.
'You've got to be a doer to be re-elected.' 'You don't have to be a great communicator or an orator any more because voters want to see action and development on the ground.' 'And they want a doer rather than just an orator.'
"I will say 'Jai Hind', I will say 'Hindustan Zindabad' the CPI-M leader said.
Bowing to public outcry, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he will request the high court to order a CBI probe into the Vyapam case, including the large number of deaths of people allegedly linked to the scam.
It is possibly the first time that a regional party with not even enough numbers to move a no-trust motion has taken the lead, and others are following it. The hints of a no-trust move first came from the YSR Congress, and the ruling TDP could not have stayed on together when the question is another version of 'Telugu atma gouravam' - an issue that fired its founder N T Rama Rao in the 1980s, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A massive swing of 21.3 per cent in vote share propelled the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to coast to a resounding victory in 37 of the 39 seats leaving miles behind rivals including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Congress, Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu.
'The control of the Church over Christian people regarding politics has become weak...' 'People have started to think independently and it is not for sure that they will obey whatever the Church asks them to do.'
The DMK has Stalin and Stalin alone as the key campaigner. The rest of them all, including half-sister Kanimozhi, are tied down to their own constituencies while those like party treasurer and former minister S Duraimurugan, to those of their children's constituencies.
A latest survey by the Association for Democratic Reforms reveals that 14 criminals and 50 crorepatis will be contesting the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker was on Tuesday attacked allegedly by Communist Party of India-Marxist men, after he was pulled out from his autorickshaw carrying school students in Kannur district.
Coming as it does only months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Chennai meet could provide the launch pad for a national alternative to the BJP-NDA, and MK Stalin may be given the credit for getting it going, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The interesting bit about the Azamgarh poll finding on India TV was the whopping percentage of Muslims backing the SP-BSP alliance, which sort of negates Mayawati's appeal to the community to not split their vote with the Congress, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Unlike in Gujarat, where he could ask for votes based on delivery, in 2019 he will have to appeal to his core Hindutva ideology, by firing over someone else's shoulders,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
However, the tilting factor still remains: Can the rivalling 'Modi brand' of 'soft Hindutva' and 'hard-sell nationalism' garner more votes for the NDA in Tamil Nadu, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
For Stalin and the DMK, the declaration was the essence of the commencement of seat-sharing talks with the Congress, and even more, the launch of their combined campaign for the LS polls. That meant the DMK had to send out a message also to the 'minorities' in the state, who had deserted the DMK and very badly at that in the critical, post-Jaya R K Nagar assembly bypolls last year, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
"Any fight with the Congress will remain in the state. At the national level, we will fight together, this I am saying from the heart..." she said.
BJP made inroads into the Congress and NCP strongholds, winning 851 seats. Shiv Sena won 514, NCP 638, Congress 643, MNS 16, BSP 9, unrecognised parties 119, local coalitions 384, CPM 12 and Independents 324 seats.
'The Modi-Shah duo won't leave the war zone without putting up a tough fight.' 'Modi's slogan for 2019 could well be, "I have done much. Give me one more chance to do even more".' '2019 will be tough for the BJP.' 'But it will be even tougher for the Opposition -- united or otherwise,' says R Rajagopalan.
The party president also said that India's self-confidence, pride and scale of ambition have grown manifold in three years.
In a one-horse race, ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led by Jayalalithaa on Friday inflicted a crushing defeat on its arch-rival DMK, Congress and BJP-led six-party alliance, winning 4 seats and establishing unassailable leads in 33 out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu.
An outstanding student, the Politburo member has emerged as a leader with considerable skills of political negotiations.
Neither emotions nor a structured approach to addressing critical issues came out in Kamal Hassan's inaugural speech on Wednesday, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'It was planned in such a manner that it was made to look like a communal incident.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances