M K Stalin might not have his father's charisma, but he has learnt the ropes the long, hard way, says T E Narasimhan
The Congress on Wednesday began the consultation process with its allies on the issue of next President with party chief Sonia Gandhi holding deliberations with Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar on the issue.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate's pleas seeking an early hearing into the appeals challenging the acquittal of former telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Earlier, KCR had met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as part of efforts to build a non-Congress, non-BJP third front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The CMM was appointed as commissioner to record 84-year-old Ammal's testimony by a Special CBI Court, holding trial in the case, in the wake of the Supreme Court's direction.
With the assembly polls only two years away, in 2026, any demoralising defeat in 2024, would challenge not only the party's continued relevance but also EPS's leadership, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
BJP veterans whom K Annamalai has reportedly sidelined are upset over his 'immature' way of handling allies, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
Justice Brijesh Sethi held that the 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to Section 13 (1)(d) would not come to the rescue of the acquitted accused in this appeal.
Jayalalithaa and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday crossed swords over Tamil Nadu putting on hold the Hogenakkal water project, with the AIADMK supremo alleging that the DMK leader was expecting a cabinet berth for his daughter M P Kanimozhi, prompting him to take the decision.The former chief minister also said that Karunanidhi had betrayed the interests of the state and demanded his resignation.But Karunanidhi refuted the charge.
Whenever they are announced, the bypolls to 20 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu will be a mini referendum on the state government's performance. It will also be a do-or-die battle for the ruling AIADMK, opposition DMK, as well as the rebel AMMK, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Supporters of the bull taming sport Jalikattu on Tuesday staged protests in Tamil Nadu after SC stayed the Centre's notification lifting the ban on it.
RJD president Lalu Prasad will not attend the celebrations due to ill health.
Jayalalithaa's attack on BJP's PM hopeful a little too late in the coming, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Millions of mobile phone users would have wished Dayanidhi Maran stayed as telecom minister for at least a few more days as he was planning to abolish roaming charges on cell phones from June 3.
The high court's order came on a plea by acquitted individual and Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd director Asif Balwa that the CBI has not placed on record the mandatory authority under the provisions of the CrPC.
The very timing of the Phalke Award on Rajini now, days ahead of Tamil Nadu voting in the assembly election, may have taken away the seriousness and credibility attaching to the Centre's decision, making it sound every bit political, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Seeking to turn the tables on the opposition which is promising prohibition if voted to power, CM Jayalalithaa assured a dry law in Tamil Nadu in a staggered manner.
Two districts where most of the cash and jewellery has been recovered are Madurai and Tiruchirapalli, both bastions of the rulng DMK.
'Our party cadre does not want her in the party.'
In Muthuvel Karunanidhi's passing, Tamil Nadu has lost the last of its Titans.
Andimuthu Raja's love for poetry is believed to have got him close to Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam supremo M Karunanidhi for a blazing political career but the script went awry in a rare case of a former union minister having to undergo the ignominy of arrest consumed by the 2G Spectrum scam.
To claim that Tamil Nadu was waiting for a messiah of the 'spiritual' Rajini kind is misplaced, if not mischievous, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Without strategising together, Jayalalithaa's successor, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, and M Karunanidhi's son-cum-successor, M K Stalin, have used tough-talking on seat-sharing with allies, to replace charisma that they purportedly lacked, during the run-up to the assembly polls scheduled for April 6, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Today, when one Kamalahaasan launches a new political outfit, vowing to cleanse Tamil Nadu polity and political administration of corruption, mal-governance and non-governance, he is pitted not only against Rajini with his commitment to 'spiritual politics', he is also pitted against the real 'Lotus' in Tamil Nadu politics, representing the ruling BJP at the Centre, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's political rivals are sharply divided over appealing against her acquittal in a disproportionate assets case that saw her return to power for a fifth time two days ago.
'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?'
More than the traditional Dravidian political rivalry that's now on display, it's boiling down to father-son one-upmanship within the DMK, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Refuting speculations of split in the alliance between Congress and National Conference, Omar Abdullah said his party has no intention of leaving the alliance.
Will the 2016 assembly election be Stalin's to lead the DMK in?
The Indian authorities have to reconfirm that Prabhakaran is dead. It may require seeking assistance from Interpol and also involve the re-opening of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and more so, the investigations, formally or otherwise, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
Using recent developments for reaching out to DMK and JD-U ensures needed thrust for the congress and its government. Aditi Phadnis reports
Second-line AIADMK leaders and cadres alike say that by starting the talks first with the BJP and committing the party to an alliance without discussing seat-sharing, the leadership might have commenced the coalition discourse at the wrong end. According to them, even 20 seats for the BJP may be too many, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Finance Minister P T R Palanivel Thiagarajan has proclaimed his determination to set Tamil Nadu's fiscal house in order in five years, and Friday will show how he plans to go about it when he rises to present the Stalin government's maiden budget, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
As the mercury keeps moving up in the wake of rising temperature, poll fever is also soaring northward in Tamil Nadu which will witness a fierce fight for the 39 Lok Sabha seats between ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, even as a six-party BJP-led alliance is trying to play spoilsport.
Thousands of police personnel have been deployed across the state to maintain law and order.
How will DMDK's decision to join the People's Democratic Front affect the political scenario in TN.
If the DMK under Stalin is unable to do well in the Lok Sabha elections, his personal and political standing in the party will be threatened. But if the party does well, Stalin is the next kingmaker to watch out for. T E Narasimhan and Aditi Phadnis report.
Violence broke out in several parts of Tamil Nadu today after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was convicted in a graft case with angry All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supporters indulging in stone pelting and arson and forcing closure of shops.
Continuing its winning streak, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday retained the Yercaud (ST) assembly constituency, with party nominee P Saroja romping home with a massive margin of 78,116 votes against her DMK rival V Maran
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