'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa claims Uttar Pradesh's development is funded by Tamil Nadu's tax contributions to the central government, sparking a political debate over regional economic disparities.
The Karur tragedy has exposed the huge gaps in Vijay's understanding of realpolitik, elections and political administration, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The minister's reaction came days after Rajinikanth praised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for "managing" senior DMK leaders in the party.
Amit Shah seemingly encouraging AIADMK dissident Sengottaiyan after party boss Edappadi K Palaniswami had removed his one-time mentor from all party posts has not gone down well with party cadres. They are now ready to buy Team EPS' theory that the BJP and Amit Shah are out to liquidate the AIADMK, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
He ruled out an electoral alliance with any party and said next year's Assembly poll will be a straight contest between his TVK and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is under pressure from his party as his unclear stand on the BJP alliance has brought back fears among party workers that the party may lose its identity, be forced into an unwanted coalition, and be taken over by the BJP later, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The party, rallying in his support, campaigned that national icons like Periyar EV Ramasamy, Dr BR Ambedkar and Naryana Guru had spoken against discrimination including those based on a person's birth. That the Sanatan Dharma controversy cut no electoral ice in Tamil Nadu was also seen as a success for Udhayanidhi.
The BJP's strategy seem to be to wean away allies from the Congress, in Dravidian Tamil Nadu, and maybe later in UP, Bihar and elsewhere, though in slow doses, but without wooing them into a new alliance. The idea seems to be only to weaken the INDIA bloc from within -- and leaving it at that, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vijay, with his chief ministerial ambitions, is a one-man army, at least as of now, and his campaign team considers him omnipresent. He has to be present in all districts, if not all constituencies at the same time, as there is no second-line leader or platform speaker in the party, who can draw crowds, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Successive elections since 2019 have proved that the Modi charisma and Shah's strategy does not work in Tamil Nadu. Now, they have to see next year if the DMK is capable of losing, whether to an existing NDA alliance or an expanded version, if one becomes necessary and possible!, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
...the DMK chief minister's campaign -- which includes criticism of the BJP's 'pro-Hindutva, anti-Tamil, anti-federal' policies and building on his own government's social welfare programmes targeting especially women and youth -- appeals to Tamil Nadu's voters in next year's assembly election, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
BJP workers depend on Annamalai's popularity to emerge victorious. He has has made 100 promises to be fulfilled in 500 days and assurances include cleaning up rivers, an international airport and food vans named after former Chief Minister K Kamaraj.
This is important because he is to be seen as a sure winner before criss-crossing the state to campaign for candidates of the party or an alliance, highlights N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vijay is counting on what was once proclaimed as his last filmi outing, Jana Nayagan, or 'People's Hero', to do the trick for him, when it releases on January 9, 2026, only months before the assembly poll, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The O Panneerselvam-led AIADMK Cadres Rights Retrieval Committee has withdrawn from the BJP-led NDA coalition, a year after joining. The move follows meetings between Panneerselvam and DMK Chief Minister M K Stalin, fueling speculation about future alliances.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Wearing white caps with a red cross on the words 'SIR' and "vote chori", the protesting MPs started their march from Parliament's Makar Dwar raising slogans against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and "vote chori" while carrying placards and banners.
The BJP is hopeful that the issue will come in handy in its efforts to gain political traction in the Dravidian territory during the Lok Sabha polls, more so as it involves neighbouring Sri Lanka whose treatment of its own Tamilian citizens and Tamil Nadu fishermen has long been a charged political issue in the state.
The DMK leader's reference made was to one of the INDIA bloc meetings in which Nitish Kumar reportedly stressed on use of Hindi.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has nominated Maharashta Governor Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan as their candidate for Vice-President of India. The announcement was made by BJP President J P Nadda, highlighting Radhakrishnan's extensive public service and cross-party respect.
Kamal Haasan stoked a controversy during the audio launch event for his film Thug Life in Chennai, by remarking that Kannada was born out of Tamil.
Yadav said like his Rashtriya Janata Dal, the DMK headed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was a party that believed in social justice.
Given the possibilities that next year's assembly elections could throw up, Stalin told the state assembly that an interim report had to be submitted by January 2026. The outcomes may well find its way into the DMK's poll manifesto, thus seeking to keep the electoral focus still on the BJP-ruled Centre and Prime Minister Modi, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Dravidian movement was started for the Hindus who were rejected by the upper castes.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Bharatiya Janata Party and all the alliance parties will contest the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu together under the National Democratic Alliance. The significant political development comes ahead of the TN Assembly election to be held in 2026,
Constituencies that are going to the polls in the first phase, slated for April 19, have just 19 days for campaigning. Contrast that with those going to polls in the 7th phase, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced the formation of a panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to study the relationship between the Union and state governments and ensure state autonomy. The panel, which will submit its interim report in January 2026 and its final report in two years, will examine the transfer of subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List, citing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as an example of a subject outside state purview.
'There is no doubt about the antiquity of Tamil Nadu.'
The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution on Thursday condemning the Centre's proposed Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, calling for its recall. Chief Minister M K Stalin argued that the amendment interferes with religious affairs and would negatively impact the Muslim minority. The resolution was unanimously passed by the Assembly, with support from all parties, including the opposition AIADMK and PMK. The BJP, however, walked out in protest, accusing the ruling DMK of engaging in divisive politics. The bill aims to streamline the Waqf Board's work and ensure efficient management of Waqf properties but has been criticized for potentially encroaching on religious freedom and autonomy. The Tamil Nadu government claims that the amendment would lead to government control over the Waqf Board and its properties, impacting its autonomy and potentially allowing for government acquisition of Muslim-owned lands.
From the voter-level, traditionally anti-BJP, anti-Hindutva minorities and other secular voters would have an option, especially in the face of the mounting anti-incumbency against the ruling party -- as it happened in the 2001 assembly polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was proud of the manner in which the multi-party delegations presented India's views in various countries on the need to eradicate the menace of terrorism following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
'The BJP knows only one language, intimidation!'
The BJP has nothing to lose after a point. For the DMK it is a difficult choice, as it would not want to give too much of space to a 'national party' lest the 'Dravidian duel' of the past decades should be lost forever, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
