Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict A G Perarivalan on Wednesday celebrated the Supreme Court verdict directing his release by playing the Tamil percussion instrument 'Parai' and now wants to breathe the air of freedom before thinking about his future, as the apex court ruling put an end to his three-decade prison term.
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.
General Rahul into battle... did Markandey Katju stage a 'walkout'... the DMK dress code braves the North Indian winter... and ahem! yet another 'son rise' in Lucknow... chai and gupshup from the Dilli Darbar.
On his first visit to Tamil Nadu after retaining power in this year's Lok Sabha polls, the prime minister reiterated his campaign against single-use plastic.
The legislators moved out of the resort as it was already booked for the weekend, sources said.
The sidelined leader's victory is being seen as a worrying development both for AIADMK and principal opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which finished third behind the ruling party.
A shell shocked opposition are finding it difficult to come to grips with the verdict in the disproportionate assets corruption case against Jayalalithaa.
Rajinikanth will announce his decision by the end of this month through a video message on his Twitter handle.
At a time when the AIADMK has chosen the late Jaya's personal aide to lead the party, M K Stalin re-enters the scene with greater credibility and better clarity of his own role in the DMK, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
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.
Rahul Gandhi replied on Twitter, saying, 'Thank you for your greetings @narendramodi ji. I appreciate them.'
A relatively quiet foray by actor Vijay into politics through the TN rural local body elections last month has captured the attention of many, reports Shine Jacob.
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) chief T T V Dinakaran on Wednesday said he tried his best to persuade his aunt V K Sasikala from 'stepping aside' from politics.
Sasikala's declaration of staying away from politics does not necessarily have to mean that she was retiring for good. She is only taking time to evaluate the post-poll chances of hers before digging in again, if possible, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sandhya Ravishankar describes the thorny relationship between the two political titans of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa, both now part of the ages.
Kanyakumari is the tip of India and will convey the symbol that from the tip of India, the Congress is on its way up.
Glimpses of the CWC meeting, which was meant to formulate a plan to revive the party from the death throes of electoral irrelevance, but...
After an unsavoury courtroom battle, his party won to secure for him the final resting place at the Chennai landmark
The BJP has to endorse chief minister K Palaniswami's candidature for the CM's post for the polls and agree to its other terms -- like non-participation in government -- and if not, should rethink of its 2021 electoral options, the AIADMK indicated at its meet.
Breaking his silence over India's participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting scheduled at Colombo next month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said a decision would be taken only after considering all relevant factors, including sentiments of Tamil people.
And in the midst of it all, Jayalalithaa keeps the guessing game going, on her returning as chief minister and on calling for early assembly polls, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The blasts in Lanka are against our ideology.'
As the second phase of polling commenced on Thursday amid heightened security, bigwigs came out to cast their votes for constituting the 17th Lok Sabha. Among those who took to their respective polling booths were former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth, BJP candidate from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya, and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, among others.
His career as a bureaucrat has been somewhat colourless, which suggests his current elevation is simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time.
Nobody bothered to articulate the upsides; instead, the four-year tour of duty and denial of life-long pensions got played up.
Job-seekers for government and related opportunities found that their future was at risk, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
The two rival factions of the AIADMK may have merged, but there are problems staring at it on all fronts -- governmental, political, electoral and organisational, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
More than 750 constituencies spread across four states and one union territory will go to the polls on Tuesday
Panneerselvam said Sasikala is only a 'temporary general secretary' and proper elections have to be held to elect new party chief.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
Aditi Phadnis predicts frequent stand-offs between the Centre and states in the future.
Virtually friendless in Tamil Nadu, Congress on Monday said it would be going it alone in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Amid strains in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's first family over leadership squabbles, party chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday issued a veiled warning to his Madurai-based son M K Alagiri, saying those who went against party diktat would be expelled.
Never before in the history of the Republic has an election in the state mattered so much as it does now, observes Virendra Kapoor.
The Major Ports Authority Bill, 2020 was passed through ballot votes in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with 84 votes in its favour and 44 against it. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on September 23 last year.
AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala also lashed out at the Congress, her party's arch rival Dravida Munnnetra Kazhagam, and the Bharatiya Janata Party over failure to conduct the sport.
The BJP top leader's Tamil pitch assumes significance Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had some days back alleged that the saffron party had no respect for Tamil language and culture.
More than 5.79 crore voters will seal the fate of 3,740 aspirants including arch rivals Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and Dravida Munnetra Kazagham president M Karunanidhi, as the stage is set for polling in 233 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu under tight vigil on Monday.
The nearly two month-long grueling campaigning in peak summer for the May 16 Tamil Nadu assembly election that is witnessing a multi-cornered contest comes to an end on Saturday.
It is wrong to say the Congress doesn't matter. Certainly one set of people who do not believe that for a minute is the BJP. That's why even in his speech in Parliament on Constitution Day, Mr Modi called dynastic politics a threat to democracy, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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