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.
Attacking the Tamil Nadu chief minister over a host of issues, including unemployment, he alleged that her rule was marked by corruption and that industries had migrated to other states
The internal feud in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam intensified on Thursday with the high command ordering suspension of five loyalists of M K Alagiri, elder son of party chief M Karunanidhi, over recurring instances of "mischievous posters" in Madurai.
Stung by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam move to suspend him, former Union Minister M K Alagiri on Saturday charged that democracy was dead in the party and questioned why no action was taken against his younger brother M K Stalin's supporters for pasting posters hailing him as future party president.
Opposition parties Nationalist Congress Party and Samajwadi Party on Wednesday demanded reservation for OBCs in the women's reservation bill and questioned the reason for calling a special session when the bill cannot be implemented before census and delimitation.
Opposing the invitation extended to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko on Friday met Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh and demanded that the party should 'avoid' the presence of Mahinda Rajapaksa at Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
The CM also said that the Parliament Secretariat had issued a circular to the MPs stating that they can allot Rs 1 crore worth renovation and rehabilitation efforts in the flood-affected districts from Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
An AIADMK survey estimates that the party will get between 25 and 30 of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats. This makes Jayalalithaa a major player in New Delhi, if not a contender for the prime minister's post.
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Thursday staged an unprecedented walkout from the state assembly following a face-off with Chief Minister M K Stalin over the former's customary address to members of the house in its first session of the year.
The work on seat sharing with other allies will begin from Thursday, he told reporters.
After an unsavoury courtroom battle, his party won to secure for him the final resting place at the Chennai landmark
The PM name is to be decided only after the Lok Sabha results, a top opposition leader said.
Tamil Nadu's obsession for honorifics appears to be a never-ending story. The latest is the "Ezhuchi Nayagan" (rising leader) title for All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's new interim general secretary K Palaniswami, proposed by the party's presidium chairman Tamil Magan Hussain in Chennai on Monday.
With Sundar raking up the issue on Twitter and later emotionally addressing a press conference, the ruling party announced that the platform speaker, Sivaji Krishnamurthy, was being dismissed from the party for indiscipline and bringing disrepute to it.
It was decided by Tamil Nadu Congress to push for at least 45 seats and in a worst case scenario climb down a few seats and conclude the deal and it has worked out as was expected.
"Since the central government had assisted in the treatment of Jayalalithaa, it has a responsibility to unravel the mystery surrounding her death... Therefore, using its authority, it should immediately order a CBI probe into the matter," he said.
Having burnt his fingers with MGR very badly in the past and later with Vaiko, it suited the DMK chief, when disgruntled cadres upset with Stalin's choice for lower-rung party positions, began gravitating towards another member of the DMK's 'first family', says N Sathiya Moorthy
"Kamal is efficient. He will earn people's confidence," he said.
Raja and Kanimozhi met Karunanidhi at his Gopalpuram residence.
Firmly backing DMK leader A Raja, prime accused in the 2G scam, in the wake of the controversy over filling of vacancy in the Joint Parliamentary Committee, the party today asserted it will not allow him to be made a "scapegoat".
Elections will also be held in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
He also launched a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was 'globe-trotting', afraid of facing questions over the Manipur violence.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday re-nominated sitting MP M Kanimozhi, daughter of party president M Karunanidhi as its candidate for the June 27 Rajya Sabha elections for six seats, hoping to drum up support from other parties to ensure a second term for her.
Refuting speculations of split in the alliance between Congress and National Conference, Omar Abdullah said his party has no intention of leaving the alliance.
Contrary to expectations, not a single DMK functionary was present.
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.
Udhayanidhi, the 45-year old actor-producer is hailed as the "rising sun" by DMK workers, in obvious reference to the party's Rising Sun symbol.
Congress leader V Narayanasamy on Monday called on Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and formally staked claim to form government in the Union Territory.
Cosying up to suspended Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M K Alagiri, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday termed him as an "important person" and said the party would gain in the Lok Sabha polls if he extends his support to it.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
The party also appealed to the cadres not to take any extreme step in view of the 94-year-old former chief minister's health.
Harivansh, a Janata Dal-United MP, is likely to get the support of 126 members in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 244 MPs, sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party said.
While Muthuraman is suspected to be a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, Francis is believed to be a Communist Party of India activist, police said.
Why was everyone wooing Vijayakanth and why was he playing hard to get?
Indicating that Tamil Nadu will soon follow Maharashtra in witnessing a regime change, state Bharatiya Janata Party chief K Annamalai has claimed "an Eknath Shinde will emerge in" the state, comments that were dismissed outright by the ruling party.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M K Stalin will try his luck once again from Kolathur constituency in Chennai in the April 6 Tamil Nadu assembly elections while his son Udhayanidhi will make his electoral debut by contesting from the Chepauk-Triplicane segment in the metropolis.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam might have been pushed into a corner to come up with a prohibition policy of its own, if only to create the right atmosphere for talking about an Opposition coalition in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders on Saturday met Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah to press the party's demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the June 28 building collapse near Porur, which killed 61 people.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday said he will approach court and give "answer" to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for mentioning his name in his list of "corrupt" politicians.
There will be 2,364 counting halls as compared to 1,002 halls in 2016 in 822 assemble constituencies, a more than 200 percent increase, in view of the COVID guidelines, according to the Election Commission which had drawn flak from the courts over the conduct of polls during the pandemic.
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