Allotting seven seats to smaller allies, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Monday released the list naming candidates for the rest of 227 seats for which she held interviews for ticket aspirants from across Tamil Nadu in the past two weeks.
Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtraparti Bhavan.
The BJP wants to win a state where it has been out of power for 15 years. The Congress wants to make its mark in a state where it has been a bit player for nearly 30 years. And the BSP wants to recapture power it lost 5 years ago.
Trupti Desai's fight earned women the right to enter the inner sanctums of the Shani Shingnapur Temple, the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple and the Haji Ali Dargah. Her next target is Sabarimala in Kerala. Aditi Phadnis reports.
'Only the smoke is coming out now. Let us prevent the lava from coming out by taking proper measures.' 'I have told every leader that you cannot have a stable government without winning the confidence of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and the most backward castes.' 'Leaders feel that by giving a sop here and there and by symbolic actions, they can win votes. That's all they want. Votes.'
The Modi juggernaut is all set to paint the five south Indian states in saffron colours, writes R Rajagopalan.
'I lost several of my friends, a lot of people I know are severely injured and in hospital. It will take time for all of us to recover.' 'You can't blame any single political party for using their influence to get the fireworks okayed. It is an election year and everybody wants to please the people.'
'If Modi had followed Vajpayee in Kashmir, then there would have been absolutely no problem in Kashmir.'
'His record will be clouded by the same negative factors as of Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, namely, their politics and therefore social policies,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'If the charges are so serious against him, then why hasn't a single case been registered against Dr Zakir Naik?'
'Mamata Banerjee was an anti-body that the people of West Bengal needed to throw the CPI-M out. Though the disease is no more, we are suffering the anti-body. It is a punishment for the people of this state.' BJP leader Tathagatha Roy lashes out at the West Bengal chief minister.
Coming out clear on its intent to go it alone in Puducherry, the AIADMK released its candidates list for all the 30 constituencies for the May 16 assembly polls.
Why 'anti-Romeo'? Why not 'anti-loafer' squad? Or 'anti-Majnu' squad?' wonders Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Islamist terror groups have never been challenged ideologically. As long as their ideology survives, like cancer, these groups will sprout somewhere else, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Lives are lost and the social fabric is torn. The progress of the nation comes to a grinding halt.'
Police teams from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu on Saturday busted a major group of terror outfit Al-Ummah in a 11-hour operation. What is unique about the Al-Ummah is that it is in all respects a homegrown terror outfit born in the early 1990s, with no Pakistan link.
The great Indian election is over and now the wait for the results is shrinking with every passing moment. Though exit polls hint at a cakewalk for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Democratic Alliance, there are some battles which will be keenly observed on the result day.
While they have never faced any form of discrimination, Indian Jews say a minority status for Jews is among their foremost expectations from the prime minister's visit to Israel.
It seems the Congress just does not have the energy and vitality to break through even in the states where it has a ground presence and the wind of anti-incumbency on its back, says Aakar Patel.
Three hate crimes have deepened the fear among South Asians that Trump's rhetoric encouraged violence against them, but there is no evidence that Indians have been specifically targeted, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Did you know that samosas, idlis and coffee are not originally from India?
India is mushrooming with Deve Gowda wannabes because being a former prime minister is better than being a former chief minister, says Shekhar Gupta.
'Modi swept the 2014 elections for two main reasons: First, the disgust with the Congress government with a non-functional prime minister, and second, more importantly, his promise of performance and hope.' 'He cannot expect to win 2019 on these planks again. His own success in finishing the Congress will take away one plank, and with five years of reign on his CV, he will need to flaunt performance more than promise.'
The world is still figuring out the man as he continues his enigmatic journey towards the first 100 days of his presidency.
Terror groups are building a base in south India and using the sea route to smuggle in arms and drugs.
Congress on Sunday expressed surprise over the Modi government's "inability" to rein in affiliates of Sangh Parivar "brewing communal hatred and mistrust" for electoral gains.
Abdul Malik, a Maths teacher, prefers to swim to save travel time.
'It will take many years to clean the Ganga. It will not happen in five years like the prime minister wants. If you want it to be sustainable, temporary measures won't work.' Twinkle Tom, an environmental engineer by training (from Stanford no less!), now designs wedding gowns because India, sadly, does not want her expertise and skill.
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
'We could crack IM modules in the country because one arrested member would spill beans on the other.' 'With ISIS, every module is different and is possibly being handled by different operators abroad.'
There is 'negligible' support from Indian youth for the Islamic State, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday giving credit to families from minority communities for discouraging their children from getting influenced by the terror group.
He also emphasised that those giving shelter to terrorists and using them as political instruments must be condemned, an apparent reference to Pakistan.
Most of the opposition parties blamed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliates for the cow vigilantism.
In a state where Hindu social identity continues to remain in the overarching Dravida umbrella, the 'Hindutva' political identity does not have the same, or even near-similar electoral purchase, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
BJP gives only 7 per cent instead of promised 33 per cent representation to women in its national executive
A section within the RSS feels Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani should be projected as the BJP's CM candidate in UP, says Rajeev Sharma.
Hitting out at the intellectuals attacking the Centre over "the climate of intolerance", they said a section of nation's intelligentsia was dismayed by Narendra Modi's victory in the Lok Sabha polls and "failure in the elections is now sought to be avenged by other means".
There are also views within a section of the party that a turnaround in Uttar Pradesh is possible only if either of the Gandhis -- Priyanka or Rahul -- takes the lead in the state polls.
'Yes, it may have been offensive to some, but an expression of regret is all that's called for. No lasting harm has been done, and people should put it behind them, and move on,' says Rajeev Srinivasan, defending Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti who made abusive remarks in Delhi last week.
Considering the huge stakes, the Modi government is not averse to make more diplomatic efforts to see whatever it can salvage.
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