"It is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit," Tharoor said.
All set to take over as the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Tamil Nadu sssembly, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam scion M K Stalin on Tuesday vowed to do justice to the post and take up people's issues in a constructive way in the legislature.
The department of vigilance and anti-corruption in Tamil Nadu on Thursday carried out searches at over 20 premises and locations related to former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam minister K C Veeramani, including at his native Jolarpettai in Thirupatthur district in connection with a disproportionate assets case, the police said.
As results pour in for the four states -- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam -- and one Union Territory -- Puducherry - here's a glimpse at the leaders who are trailing and those who are leading.
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.
The workers, who cleaned the statue, demanded the arrest of the culprits and warned that they would intensify their agitation if such incidents recurred, police said.
Watch all the proceedings and live debates
However, in the event of the Bharatiya Janata Party deciding to contest, his candidate would withdraw from the race, he said.
Alva, 80, would file her nomination papers on Tuesday, July 19 which is the last date for filing nominations for the August 6 election.
In a power tussle between the top two leaders, Panneerselvam was expelled by a general council of the AIADMK in July 2022. Later, Palaniswami was elected as the top leader of the main opposition party.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi has said that all viewpoints have to be taken into account before starting any work on the disputed Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. "I have already mentioned that an all-party meeting must be convened to discuss the issue. But it was not done and instead an assembly session was called. By convening an all-party meeting, we get different views on the subject and that is what we have missed, I feel," added Karunanidhi.
After Shah said Hindi is the most spoken language which can unite the nation as a common language, Tamil Nadu parties rallied against it.
M K Stalin might not have his father's charisma, but he has learnt the ropes the long, hard way, feels T E Narasimhan
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief Vijay launched his state-wide campaign in Tiruchirappalli, encountering an audio glitch. He criticized both the central government and the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, stating his intention to serve the people, not to amass wealth.
As the Bihar assembly results swept in, Patna's Veerchand Patel Marg, the city's political artery, split into two starkly different worlds, with celebrations at the BJP and JD(U) offices and disappointment at the RJD headquarters.
Tamil Nadu is set to protest against the National Education Policy (NEP) on February 18, with the ruling DMK and its allies announcing a demonstration. The state government has been at odds with the Centre over the implementation of the NEP and the three-language formula proposed in the policy. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan dismissed the state's opposition as "politics" and asserted that the Centre is committed to implementing the NEP across the country. The DMK, however, accused the Centre of encroaching on the state's rights and using the office of the Governor to push the NEP.
The campaign will reach a high decibel level next week when BJP state chief K Annamalai is expected to take up a blitzkrieg campaign against the ruling DMK.
The Congress was the only party in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to demand a discussion on setting up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe allegations against the Adani group. Other opposition parties gave similar notices on different issues, including violence in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal. The Congress members sought a JPC to investigate the alleged misconduct, including corruption, bribery and financial irregularities of the Adani Group in connivance with other authorities. However, other opposition parties raised different issues, with the AAP seeking a discussion on "increasing crimes in Delhi" and the TMC, DMK, AAP and CPI seeking a discussion on violence in Manipur. The CPI-M, SP and IUML sought a discussion on the recent violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.
Thambidurai, 71, was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on Tuesday and underwent an angiogram, they said without divulging any further details.
Abstention by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi also helped the government get its legislation through in the upper house where the ruling party does not enjoy a majority.
The Election Commission has defended its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court, refuting allegations of mass deletion of genuine voters as exaggerated and politically motivated.
In an apparent bid to woo the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, All India Anna Drravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Jayalalithaa on Thursday asked that party to snap ties with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and withdraw its support to the Karunanidhi government.
Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission's plan to implement the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state.
A Raja said panel's chairman Jagdambika Pal has been conducting the panel's meetings in haste, raising doubts that it will not be able to serve justice.
Accusing Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi of trying to create confusion in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led front, actor-politician Vijaykant has said Jayalalithaa would be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu if the party-led combine was voted to power in the April 13 assembly elections."Karunanidhi is making such remarks to create confusion in the AIADMK-led alliance," he charged.
Kanugolu had also made forays in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh following a directive from the party's central leadership but regional satraps Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath reportedly were not on the same page as the poll strategist.
He will be remembered for mustering the courage to take on former chief ministers and the state's political heavyweights M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa in the political arena on his own terms and also hold his own against them.
Rajinikanth will announce his decision by the end of this month through a video message on his Twitter handle.
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.
A video clip showing women being chased and intimidated by men in a SUV with a DMK flag has gone viral in Chennai. Opposition leaders have condemned the incident and demanded action against the accused. Police are investigating the incident.
Madhusudhanan, the party's presidium chairman, was the AIADMK's "unanimous" choice.
Jayalalithaa, who took oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the sixth time, said if she would have been informed she would have instructed the officers in charge of the arrangements to provide a seat to Stalin in the first row, relaxing the norms in the Protocol Manual.
If proven guilty by judge Michael d'Cunha, Jayalalithaa and her aides -- Sasikakala Natrajan, Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi -- could face up to six years in jail.
The Congress on Sunday said it was not stopping anyone from being part of diplomatic delegations to be sent to various countries following Operation Sindoor and that its leaders who have been named at the instance of the government must listen to their conscience and contribute to the exercise.
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.
The fate of Mohana Rao was not immediately known.
The Kanimozhi Karunanidhi-led delegation is visiting five European nations to garner support for India's campaign against cross-border terrorism.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
Forty-two of the 102 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the general election's first phase are constituencies that have three or more candidates facing criminal cases, according to a poll rights body.
