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.
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.
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.
Sonia Gandhi is expected to unveil Congress' strategy on Monday in the backdrop of opposition flak over issues like the VVIP chopper deal, Italian marines and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam threat to pull out of UPA on Sri Lankan Tamils problem.
The petitions alleged that these laws would dismantle the Agricultural Produce Market Committee system intended to ensure fair prices for farm products
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked party leaders from Gujarat to focus on issues to build pressure on the Narendra Modi-led government.
In Muthuvel Karunanidhi's passing, Tamil Nadu has lost the last of its Titans.
Decks were cleared on Friday night for an ordinance on Jallikattu after Tamil Nadu and the Centre worked feverishly even as the state stood on the edge and protesters on Marina beach and elsewhere refused to relent until the sport is held.
Modi's non-reference could also imply that the BJP may be keeping its alliance options open vis--vis the AIADMK. It could also imply that the BJP's national leadership had not given up on the DMK returning to power in the state post-poll, and the Centre having to do business with a new government in Fort St George, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
It should not surprise anyone if either of the contending parties in the 'TN speaker's case' comes up with a submission for referring the matter of 'speaker's powers' to a Constitution Bench. In political terms it could buy more time for the Edappadi camp, to settle down and stabilise itself, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Will the 2016 assembly election be Stalin's to lead the DMK in?
'Jayalalithaa could not do what MGR did, and Sasikala will not be able to do what Jayalalithaa did.'
Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is coordinating the meeting. He has invited the leaders of all the non-BJP parties.
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.
'Modi is still immensely popular and, therefore, he can sustain any number of policy failures.' 'Modi himself has worn multiple faces so it would be naive to think that the Modi of 2021 will be the same Modi that will be campaigning for re-election in 2024.'
Amid the din in which BJP and Congress members tried to shove each other and some members banged the door leading to the secretary general's desk, Birla adjourned the House for the day.
The lingering political drama in Tamil Nadu may see a denouement soon with Attorney General on Monday advising Governor C Vidyasar Rao to convene the assembly within in a week for a floor test to decide the fate of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rivals O Panneerselvam and V K Sasikala.
The Enforcement Directorate is expected to soon file a chargesheet against Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi and former Telecom Minister A Raja for alleged money laundering in the 2G spectrum case.
Thousands of police personnel have been deployed across the state to maintain law and order.
62 candidates vye for Amma's mantle in the Radhakrishnan Nagar assembly by-poll in Tamil Nadu, but who will fortune favour?
Gandhi said he has "received tremendous love and affection from people of Tamil Nadu and it is my duty to stand with people of Tamil Nadu and protect their history, their culture and their language."
'The AIADMK has no Number Two, frankly it does not even have a Number Hundred and Two. There is the Numero Uno, and there is everybody else -- a point that was made very clear when Jayalalithaa made her ministers take the oath of office in unison on May 23. What, after all, was the point of having them do so individually when they lack individuality?'
Should the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu not make the required five out of 22 by-election seats, or even otherwise, the temptation to poach, especially from the Congress or starting with the Congress may be high on Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisami's agenda, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Hitting back at Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat for allegedly calling Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam a 'family controlled party', Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday sought to turn the tables on the communist leader, reminding him that his wife is working with him in their party.
Four and a half crore voters will decide the fate of 2,773 candidates.
Allotting seven seats to smaller allies, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Monday released the list naming candidates for the rest of 227 seats for which she held interviews for ticket aspirants from across Tamil Nadu in the past two weeks.
V Narayanasamy was on Monday sworn in as the tenth chief minister of Puducherry.
The Dravidian model of politics seems to depend on freebies, feeds on corruption and brazenly encourages crony capitalism, says M R Venkatesh.
With Tamil Nadu's electoral fate decided, all eyes would now veer round to the pending 'disproportionate assets case' against Jayalalithaa in the Supreme Court, and Stalin's own future within the DMK, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Slamming Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Congress as 'partners in corruption,' Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat on Thursday alleged that the real agenda behind the 'seat sharing drama' between the two parties was to cover up the probe into 2G spectrum allocation scam and prevent it from extending to the family of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.
AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala said her thoughts will continue to remain with the party even from inside the jail.
Dinakaran has been re-inducted and elevated to the position of deputy general secretary.
Upset over the arrest of Kanimozhi in 2G scam, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Friday said he was in a position like that of any father whose daughter faced a similar situation for no fault of hers and said the party general council would decide on future ties with Congress.
For now, Edappadi K Palaniswami is in the saddle in Tamil Nadu, and firmly so. Both inside the party and the government, he has made OPS a yes-man, as the latter used to be under Jayalalithaa, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Raja said he had, in fact, brought a 'revolution' in the telecom sector.
Even as political parties in TN have decided not to field a candidate against CM Jayalalithaa in the assembly by-election, the BJP's ambivalence has shown up once again.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munntera Kazhagam General Secretary Vaiko on Friday said repeated attacks on Indian fishermen, allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, has made the livelihood of over one crore fishermen in Tamil Nadu quite uncertain.
They were participating in a debate on the bill for giving effect to various compliance relief measures for taxpayers, including extending time limits for filing returns, in the wake of the coronavirus crisis and tax benefits for donations to PM CARES Fund.
Congress is the only other horse in the race for national power, never mind how distant. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah know better than to take the Congress lightly, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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