The party is looking at Amit Shah's visit to Tamil Nadu and the PM's to Sri Lanka to boost its expansions efforts in the state for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, reports Archis Mohan.
Allegations of strains on democratic and constitutional institutions across the board, security threats from outside, a greedy Opposition inside, were all a part of the package then as now, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The BJP has been wooing him for quite some time.' 'But he didn't join the BJP; he started his own party.' 'Remember he has Hindus, Muslims and Christians as his fans.' 'He will never antagonise any of his fans.'
Rajinikanth seems to have ended the recently-revived speculation about his imminent launch into direct politics, unlike in the past, when he had expressed specific or indirect support one or the other of the two 'Dravidian majors', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP may have to wait a little longer in Tamil Nadu to tie up with the superstar because, despite early and intermittent signals to the contrary, Rajinikanth has been going slow on his political project. Instead, he has been busy with two films on hand. One is acclaimed film-maker Shankar's 2.0. He has also quickly signed up for another movie produced by Sun Pictures of Kaalanidhi Maran, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A poll update from Maharashtra's Nashik, where Raj Thackeray is on fire
'The BJP wants an AIADMK government so that they can implement their policies.' 'All the policies implemented in UP are being implemented in Tamil Nadu.'
If purists are surprised as to why and how people are not demanding prohibition or not talking about past promises, both in the election manifestos five years back and even those made to the courts, the answer lies in how the state has been evolving and changing these past few years, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
In the absence of the over-arching 'Jaya charisma', EPS has to convince the AIADMK's traditional constituencies, including those in his western districts, that his leadership would stand up against the BJP-led Centre even in a post-poll scenario, a la Jayalalithaa, and would not yield as much as party founder MGR had done, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dig up the perceived past of the DMK rival, now under a new leader in M K Stalin, may not gel with the voters, both old and new. If they are still going to vote for the AIADMK-BJP combine, it will be for entirely different reasons, and despite Modi's poll speeches, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We see different people bringing different resentments and we feel this is the result of the deprivation of an identity because of the reintroduction of Hindi, the Hindutva overtones in the national discourse, the betrayal of the Dravidian parties and even small things like the Devanagiri script in the Rs 2,000 note.'
Congress leader V Narayanasamy on Monday called on Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and formally staked claim to form government in the Union Territory.
DMK working president M K Stalin has appealed to cadres to remain calm and to follow discipline in 'this hour of grief'.
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu achieved the feat for the Tamil film Penn Singham starring Meera Jasmine and Uday Kiran.
'The BJP is the most progressive force within Hinduism today.'
'The common belief in political circles is that if you provide reservation to somebody, s/he will automatically come up.' 'This is a very faulty understanding.'
Thursday's protests across Tamil Nadu was less pro-Cauvery and more anti-Modi in character and content -- including in it various development projects in the state that are perceived as 'environmentally unfriendly' and hence 'anti-Tamil', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The participation of the two veteran actors assumes significance in view of their recent statements suggesting that they could be joining politics.
OPS said Jayalalithaa had turned the AIADMK into 'an iron fortress which cannot be shaken by anyone'.
A high voter turnout was recorded in West Bengal, Assam Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections on Tuesday. The massive polling exercise following COVID-19 health protocol and involving lakhs of personnel began at 7 am and the last hour from 6 pm to 7 pm was set aside for COVID-19 patients and those under isolation. The counting of votes in the states will be held on May 2.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam cadres are said to be upset over AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi not calling on party patriarch and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, a practice followed by Congress leaders during their visit to Tamil Nadu.
The by-elections to 18 assembly constituencies will decide if the ruling AIADMK remains in power or not.
Udhayanidhi's ascension in the party is seen as a precursor to him being given key roles in the DMK in future which is now helmed by his 66-year old father Stalin.
Will the perceived Narendra Modi wave help the National Democratic Alliance re-enact the 1998 spectacular success in Tamil Nadu when it bagged 30 seats in alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is the million dollar question on the minds of the Bharatiya Janata Party workers as the party heads into the April 24 Lok Sabha polls armed with a rainbow combine excluding the two Dravidian majors.
'He just said that those who cannot control the violence should go. He did not name the BJP.'
This time round, even 'petrol coupons' were reportedly distributed for those attending campaign rallies, especially those addressed by top leaders, cutting across party lines. If this owed to the rising cost of petrol and diesel -- which is a poll issue this time -- there were the customary coupons for 'quarter' (liquor bottle size) and non-vegetarian biryani. Some media reports claimed that some of these 'crowds' attended more than one political rally on the same day in the last week, and at times for rival political parties in adjoining constituencies or districts, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
If Muslims face trouble I will be the first person to raise voice for them, says the Tamil superstar.
Rajini's call may now force other political parties, including the DMK and the Congress, who are in alliance talks already, to come up with water proposals of their own in their poll manifesto. In a way, this may be a 'tactical victory' for Rajinikanth, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Speaking to newspersons, senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said the party took strong exception to the DMK organising attacks on Hindu Munnani, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the offices in Tamil Nadu.
"Lord Ram is an imaginary character and Ram Sethu is not a man-made bridge. The Centre should not do anything to disturb the Sethusamudram project," he said.
How will DMDK's decision to join the People's Democratic Front affect the political scenario in TN.
In Tamil Nadu, the alternative to one Dravidian party has been another, and for one actor-politician CM, there is another. Their initial popularity may owe to their filmi charisma, but their continued acceptance owed to their government's policies and programmes targeting the poor and the needy in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
On the face of it, the first round has gone to Edappadi K Palaniswami. Not only has he been named chief ministerial candidate, that too by his one-time bete noire Panneerselvam, he also gets one member more in the steering committee than OPS. He can now hope to wean away one or more members of the OPS team in the steering committee just as he had done with other leaders in the latter's camp, post-reunification. That was also OPS's concern, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'In both places the minority was disproportionately powerful.' 'Few people acknowledge it but at its core the Tamil Nadu problem between the Brahmins and the rest was one of power.' 'In Kashmir the Hindus held most of the land and the accompanying political power, while the Muslims were the peasants and powerless,' notes T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa is likely to make her first public appearance on Friday for a scheduled MLAs meet in Chennai, party officials said.
Glowing tributes were paid to the departed leader in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, before the Houses were adjourned for the day.
Modi's non-reference could also imply that the BJP may be keeping its alliance options open vis--vis the AIADMK. It could also imply that the BJP's national leadership had not given up on the DMK returning to power in the state post-poll, and the Centre having to do business with a new government in Fort St George, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The spectacles on the Gandhi bust in Kannur were broken while the Ambedkar bust had red paint splashed across it.
For the first time in recent times, rebellion was open in the monolithic AIADMK with party workers wanting change of candidates in so many places.
Dinakaran recalled the difficulties faced by party workers in carrying forward their organisational work without a name.
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