A high-pitched battle between party patriarch Karunanidhi and son MK Stalin for power and the failure to oust corrupt leaders and maintain a clean image has left the party in shambles, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Wednesday warned that members who continue to maintain links with suspended leader M K Alagiri will face disciplinary action.
The meeting between the two leaders lasted about 20 minutes.
For quite some time, there was speculation that actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam and the DMK would sign up with the strategist for the 2021 assembly polls.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on Monday commenced the process of recording the statement of Dayalu Ammal, wife of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo M Karunanidhi, in the 2G Spectrum case.
The issue of corruption will be tested when the results of Tamil Nadu assembly elections would be declared on May 13.
But not for too long, as TTV Dinakaran can still play spoilsport, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
Dayalu Ammal, 84, has been given an option to present her case through an authorised legal representative, in case she cannot come herself and answer questions of agency sleuths on March 28 in New Delhi, sources said.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said the parties shall file brief written submissions not exceeding five pages.
The passenger, reportedly a party worker, who was standing alongside Stalin, was then asked to move from there.
The CBI contended before the Delhi high court on Tuesday that there were glaring illegalities in the trial court judgment that acquitted former telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began making submissions on Monday on its appeal before the Delhi high court challenging the acquittal of accused persons, including former telecom minister A Raja, and firms in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case in December 2017.
Monday's surprise meeting is an admission by the Bharatiya Janata Party that their purported strategy of hoping to ride the popular 'Modi wave' in a Tamil Nadu without Jaya and a bed-ridden Karunanidhi does not have much chance of success, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
A day after Election Commission announced bypoll for the RK Nagar assembly constituency from where chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa is likely to contest, DMK chief Karunanidhi on Wednesday said his party has decided not to contest the by-election.
The single-phase polling for 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu on Thursday will test the capabilities of ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, its rival, the Dravidra Munnetra Kazhagam and the Bharatiya Janata Party, who hopes to ride on the Modi wave after drawing a blank in the previous two polls.
Mamata Banerjee fended off a spirited challenge by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal with a landslide victory for her Trinamool Congress on Sunday for a third consecutive term and the saffron party and the Left Democratic Front were poised to form government again in Assam and Kerala respectively while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam stormed back to power in Tamil Nadu after a gap of 10 years.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo M Karunanidhi on Monday renominated former telecom minister and 2G scam accused A Raja for the April 24 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. He also sent a strong message to rebels in the party by denying a ticket to his son M K Alagiri.
Former Chief Minister Panneerselvam could muster only 11 votes, ending the prolonged stalemate triggered by his rebellion.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa on Sunday squarely blamed the Centre and the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam for the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka and also the fishermen from the state.
'This is the real purpose behind the arrest, and it is not about controlling corruption.' 'It is like taking Amit Shah into custody before the 2024 elections.' 'How will it affect the BJP's election machinery?'
If the already demoralised Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam cadre, beaten worse by the shocking parliamentary poll debacle in May 2014 thought that the political set-back suffered by rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa Jayaram, in the light of a Bangalore court ordering a jail-term for her in September was a boon for their leadership, it's not to be.
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.
With assembly elections only two years away, in 2016, the DMK may not have the luxury of time on its side. If the slow pace of reforms that the party has indulged itself in, in the past decade and more is any indicator, the committed 25 percent vote-share would either be frittered away, or lost, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Bharatiya Janata Party Supremo and Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi is embraced by a 103-year-old supporter in Dahod.
The ED, in its chargesheet, had alleged that Rs 200 crore was paid by Swan Telecom (P) Ltd promoters to DMK-run Kalaignar TV.
Thalaiva's name and photo will appear on the logo and label of the channel.
Money laundering is punishable under the provisions of PMLA.
During the arguments on the bail pleas, ED had argued that the accused had committed the offence of money laundering punishable under provisions of PMLA.
Former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia on Thursday told a special court that she had talked about Cabinet formation to former Telecom Minister A Raja and Dravida Munetra Kazhagam Member of Parliament Kanimozhi who are facing trial in the 2G spectrum case.
Tamil Nadu's voters wanted tough leaders at the helm, to the point of being autocratic. It was what Karunanidhi, MGR and Jayalalithaa ended up becoming, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
DMK leader MK Stalin is concerned that a no-trust move would force the EPS faction to patch up with not only the OPS group but also the TTV camp and also get the 'Two Leaves' poll symbol unfrozen, which could upset his party's electoral apple cart, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
AIADMK's Jayalalithaa won three assembly by-elections from her hospital bed. However, the DMK heir's decision to disempower second-line satraps, who were running personal fiefdoms in their districts, and his fresh approach, could prove beneficial in the next polls, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja, Dravid Munnetra Kazagham MP Kanimozhi and seven others, chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in a 2G scam-related money laundering case, were on Wednesday granted bail by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court.
A few weeks ago, Karunanidhi had raised the issue of the central government's inability to intervene in the Sri Lankan Army's operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and threatened to withdraw from the UPA. On that occasion, a visit by Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Chennai had defused the crisis. Karunanidhi has been advised to take complete rest for a week and all his engagements during this period have been postponed, according to an official release.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday refused to grant early hearing on the Central Bureau of Investigation's appeal challenging the acquittal of former Union telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
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.
The matter was mentioned before a bench of Delhi high court's acting chief justice Gita Mittal and kustice C Hari Shankar by Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The court allowed it to be listed for hearing on Wednesday.
Reacting to the criticism, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam said the government could not initially allot space at the Marina beach for burying the DMK leader due to pending cases against construction of memorials on the famous sands.
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