At the same time VK Sasikala, confidante of late party matriarch J Jayalalithaa is staking claim to the late leader's legacy.
Wednesday's Vikravandi by-election has become a referendum on the Stalin government, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The hashtag was trending on Twitter on Monday following Ravi's face-off with the state government in the Assembly where Stalin, also president of the ruling DMK piloted a resolution against the Governor's deviation from his customary address to the Legislature and retain the draft prepared by his government.
The Congress on Tuesday claimed the bill on holding simultaneous polls was against federalism and 'anti-constitutional', and said the voting at its introduction stage in Lok Sabha showed the Bharatiya Janata Party lacks the two-thirds majority required to pass a constitutional amendment.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the BJP of a "conspiracy to save Home Minister Amit Shah's skin" following a clash in Parliament over allegations of disrespect towards B.R. Ambedkar. She alleged that BJP MPs instigated the violence and pushed opposition members, including Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, to prevent them from entering Parliament. Gandhi also challenged BJP MPs to say "Jai Bhim" and accused them of having "violent intentions" and insulting the legacy of Ambedkar.
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
World's youngest chess champion D Gukesh was felicitated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and others at a function organised by the state government in Chennai on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Saturday played down reports of his possible elevation as Deputy Chief Minister and said Chief Minister M K Stalin has to take a call on the issue.
DMK party cadres and leaders want Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's son Udhayanidhi to be elevated as deputy CM, a move which will be a 'huge advantage' for the party in the 2026 assembly elections, a senior party leader said on Thursday.
The BJP often forgets that in Dravidian Tamil Nadu, the voter does not mix religion, which is personal, and politics that is in the public sphere, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Supreme Court of India expressed concern over the appointment of DMK leader V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government despite pending money laundering cases against him. The court questioned the state government's decision, stating it is "terribly wrong" to appoint a person as a minister while facing legal proceedings. The matter has been adjourned to January 15, 2025.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday announced a series of appointments, including retaining party president and Chief Minister M K Stalin's son Udhayanidhi as its youth wing secretary, and replaced Kanimozhi with Helen Davidson in the women's wing.
Amid a growing chorus in the party for his elevation, Tamil Nadu sports minister and son of Chief Minister M K Stalin, Udhayanidhi, was elevated as the deputy CM on Saturday with additional responsibility, in a cabinet reshuffle that saw the return of V Senthil Balaji to the council of ministers two days after securing bail in a money laundering case.
The parliamentary committee scrutinizing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has been granted an extension until the last day of the next Budget Session. This decision follows a heated meeting marked by a walkout from opposition members who expressed concerns about the committee's draft report. The committee will visit several states to meet stakeholders and finalize its report.
Raja said though the icon of the Dravidian movement, Thanthai Periyar stood for an independent Tamil Nadu, the DMK moved away from it.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam maintained its winning streak in the two-phase local body elections in the nine newly created districts in Tamil Nadu trouncing the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which had earlier suffered defeat in the April 6 assembly election.
Where do Vijay and his TVK expect to get their votes from? Vijay has a huge fan following among women, but will they automatically become his voters like they had done for MGR's AIADMK, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
If not for Palaniswami, it is hard to guess if the AIADMK would have been able to garner 33.3 per cent vote share as against the DMK's 37.7 per cent. AIADMK won 66 seats, its allies Pattali Makkal Katchi and Bharatiya Janata Party five and four seats respectively and proved yet again that the western region was its fortress.
The recent 'revelation' by TN fishers freed by Sri Lanka after they had paid up Lankan rupees 50,000 each in fines, that their hair was tonsured in prison and they were forced to remove their garments other than the underpants, and were also made to clean toilets, as if with vengeance, has touched a raw nerve this time, just as another issue or issues had done it ahead of the Jallikattu protests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ramachandran, an OPS loyalist who took part in the meeting, said the former chief minister would soon meet VK Sasikala, the confidante of former party supremo J Jayalalithaa.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday once again passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to exempt the state from National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and allow it to admit students to medical courses based on Plus Two exam marks.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan accepted the mistake on Thursday after the Tamil Nadu government was left red-faced after an advertisement for a new Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that featured a rocket with the flag of China.
Opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Thursday accused the government of imposing Hindi by bringing new bills with titles only in that language, a charge the treasury bench contested while alleging they were stuck with a colonial mindset.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Shrug off the yoke of the imperialism of Delhi. That is why the DMK manifesto offers what it offers: The promise that Tamil Nadu will, one day, become an independent republic, notes Aditi Phadnis.
'The DMK may get a little more than 50% of the minority vote.' 'The AIADMK always gets over 10% of the minority vote.'
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
Kharge alleged that Dhankhar is working as a government spokesperson and acting like a school headmaster, often sermonising experienced opposition leaders and preventing them from speaking in the House.
Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a motion for removing Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the House in a partisan manner.
Parliamentary proceedings were disrupted for the third consecutive day in the Winter Session as opposition parties continued their protests over the Adani issue and violence in Manipur and Sambhal. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned within minutes of convening, despite appeals from the Chair to engage in productive dialogue and refrain from disruption. The opposition members raised slogans demanding action against the perpetrators of violence in Sambhal, and sought discussions on allegations of irregularities against the Adani Group and the violence in Manipur.
'When you weigh anti-incumbency against the Centre against anti-incumbency against the state, anti-incumbency against the Centre will triumph as this is a parliamentary election.'
According to DMK, the voters are already consolidated on ideological lines, hence the impact of anti-incumbency, whether against the BJP Centre or the DMK state may not be too much, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is leading in a string of urban local bodies across Tamil Nadu as counting of votes began on Tuesday for the just concluded civic polls.
The DMK's campaign appeared to be the most visible with propaganda at a feverish pace across the segment for the April 6 assembly polls and Stalin is the party's chief minister candidate.
While leaders alleged wrongful rendition of the Tamil anthem and BJP said mother Tamil has taught the Dy CM a 'lesson', Udhayanidhi dismissed such claims and asserted the microphone did not function properly and that it was a technical fault.
The searches over suspected tax evasion began in the morning and it covered multiple premises connected to a prominent leader of the main opposition DMK, based in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai district.
Thirty four people belonging to Kallakurichi district have died following consumption of 'methanol mixed arrack', Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Thursday.
'Samsung declared they would not allow the presence of any trade union.' 'This is unacceptable as the rule of law in India permits employees to have a trade union.' 'So, the crux of the strike is this.'
'They are trying to destroy the culture and trying to impose Manu Dharma through Hindi'
The Supreme Court has sought details from the Allahabad High Court regarding controversial statements made by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav at a VHP function. The development comes amid calls for action against the judge for his remarks, which have been labeled as hate speech by some. The judge's statements were made at a VHP function on December 8, where he spoke about the Uniform Civil Code and the law working according to the majority. Several individuals and organizations, including lawyer Prashant Bhushan and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, have called for an inquiry into the judge's conduct and for his removal from judicial duties.
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