'Vijay did not defeat Dravidian politics from outside. He entered the Dravidian field and claimed ownership of it. 'His argument was not that the room should be destroyed. It was that the present occupants no longer deserved to remain in it.'
Following the swearing-in of C Joseph Vijay as Tamil Nadu's chief minister, the new cabinet has pledged a 'white paper' audit of all state departments and a 'zero-interference' policy in administration, signalling a significant shift in governance.
Vijay's TVK is poised to win its debut Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, drawing parallels to Arvind Kejriwal's AAP's rise in Delhi. Both parties capitalised on public disenchantment with established political structures, promising change and fighting corruption.
'Present day youth are not interested in the past. They want to see what you are going to do now.'
'Vijay entered politics at a much better age compared to Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan. His fans are young and he has at least 2-3 decades ahead of him.'
DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin reiterated his call for the abolition of Sanatana Dharma, claiming it divides people, during his maiden speech as the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. He also addressed concerns regarding the positioning of the Tamil invocation song in government events.
The DMDK officially joined the DMK-led alliance ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections, marking a significant political development in the state.
DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran sparked controversy by contrasting women's education in Tamil Nadu with the situation in North India, claiming that women in the North are encouraged to stay home and bear children.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticizes the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, alleging corruption, caste-based crimes, and a rise in drug abuse. She dismisses the DMK's claims about language and Dravidian identity as a distraction from their governance failures.
DMK President M K Stalin has alleged that the ruling TVK won the April 23 Assembly polls by influencing people through social media, without doing any field work. He said social media was used to influence family members through children and that the DMK has realised this and will be very careful from now on. Stalin also mentioned that the DMK has set up a committee to tour all the 234 constituencies in the state to assess the ground situation and find out the reasons for the debacle.
'The AIADMK front comes second, and then the TVK.'
Three former AIADMK ministers, Dr C Vijayabaskar, M R Vijayabaskar, and M S M Anandan, along with their supporters, have joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), prompting the DMK to label the move as 'washing machine' politics, referencing allegations of corruption against the defectors.
West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on Thursday saw a massive voter participation during the ongoing assembly elections, with turnout reaching 89.93 per cent and 82.24 per cent respectively by 5 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
The Election Commission has issued a stern notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'terrorist'. Kharge has been asked to explain his remarks within 24 hours.
If current trends persist, the Congress risks becoming increasingly regionally concentrated, dependent on a handful of states rather than functioning as a truly pan-India political force.
The DMK party in Tamil Nadu has released its manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections, promising a range of welfare measures focused on women, education, and economic development, including financial assistance and job creation initiatives.
'...the enormous responsibility and faith the youth has put on his shoulders, that he is going to solve their problems.'
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's remark calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'terrorist' has triggered strong reactions from the BJP, who have demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
AM Shahjahan and Vanni Arasu from IUML and VCK respectively were sworn in as ministers in Tamil Nadu, increasing the number of allies in the TVK government. This marks the first time representatives from both parties have been inducted into the state cabinet, signifying a shift in Tamil Nadu's coalition dynamics.
A woman with a doctorate boycotted Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi during a convocation ceremony at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, protesting his actions against Tamil and Tamil Nadu.
The high-intensity election campaign in Tamil Nadu concluded with accusations and counter-accusations between the DMK and AIADMK, while new entrant TVK made its presence felt. Key issues included state autonomy, corruption, law and order, and the delimitation bill.
Any narrative against the Dravidian model may impact the BJP's prospects in Tamil Nadu. This may explain why the BJP in Tamil Nadu is placing more emphasis on corruption allegations against the DMK, even as the party focuses nationally on the Sanatana controversy.
'Samrat Chaudhury's limited independent standing within the party, his reliance on the central leadership for his elevation, and his lack of a personal mass base all point toward this outcome.'
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday admitted that 'as of now, some assurances such as getting NEET scrapped', could not be fulfilled.
Vijay termed the assembly polls due in April this year as a "surprising election" as all parties in the state are allegedly teamed up against him and reiterated that the contest was between the DMK and TVK only.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M K Stalin on Friday asserted that "there will be no rest" until amending the Constitution to fix timelines for governors to clear bills.
'The BJP is keeping its options open and that the final decision is still tightly held.' 'That is consistent with the party's tendency to preserve suspense, avoid premature factional conflict, and use leadership selection as a way of resetting internal hierarchies.'
Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said women are all set to enter temples in Tamil Nadu as priests under the Dravidian model of governance.
Like his father Karunanidhi and AIADMK rivals MGR and Jayalalithaa, Stalin would like to confine his real political work to Tamil Nadu, and not want to take after the late Congress leader K Kamaraj and take up a national role, even if to create greater political space for son Udhayanidhi, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
It is shameful that Governor Ravi has become a representative of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Raj Bhavan has turned into an office of the saffron party, he alleged.
'It has the potential to sow seeds of furthering discord when the direction of the discourse is aimed at propagating the perceived supremacy of 'cultural nationalism' from a distant past over the prevailing dominance of 'Constitutional nationalism',' argues 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.
Stalin called on Ravi at the Raj Bhavan here and urged him to expeditiously send the Bill to exempt Tamil Nadu from the purview of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for getting Presidential assent, an official release said.
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.
An Anna University girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted and a 37-year old man, who sells biryani on the pavement, has been arrested for the crime, police said on Wednesday.
'This is the Dravidian model of governance. The government is for people belonging to all faiths'
Vijay, with his chief ministerial ambitions, is a one-man army, at least as of now, and his campaign team considers him omnipresent. He has to be present in all districts, if not all constituencies at the same time, as there is no second-line leader or platform speaker in the party, who can draw crowds, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The closing ceremony of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad turned out to be a social evening
