One of the standout stories of the TVK victory was that of 30-year-old R Sabarinathan, the son of Vijay's driver from Virugambakkam.
The DMK has strongly criticised the Congress party for exiting their alliance in Tamil Nadu, accusing them of betrayal and opportunistic behaviour. The DMK claims the Congress has undermined the stability of the state government and risked the progress made in the last five years.
'How does the person responsible for the leader's defeat stand before the leader, showing his face, without even a shred of shame, fear, apprehension, or embarrassment?'
As results of the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry are declared, here's how the big names fared.
Three All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam legislators who were part of the rebel group led by C Ve Shanmugam and SP Velumani, met Tamil Nadu assembly Speaker JC D Prabhakar on Monday and tendered their resignation.
Actor-politician Vijay's newly formed party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has made a surprising and strong showing in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, leading in nearly 100 constituencies and leaving established Dravidian parties like DMK and AIADMK trailing.
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.
'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.'
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.
The BJP is showing strong leads in West Bengal and Assam, while actor Vijay's party is making a significant debut in Tamil Nadu. The Congress is ahead in Kerala, offering some consolation amid the changing political landscape in the state elections.
The AIADMK has released its final list of candidates for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, including nominees to contest against prominent DMK leaders. The party is contesting in alliance with the BJP, AMMK and PMK.
'If you read the TVK manifesto, it is doles and much more doles. But the state has been habituated to this.' 'In no way is he distinct or different from the DMK regime.'
'Looking at the situation purely on its Constitutional merits, the governor's conduct is defensible.' 'He is saying: You do not have a majority, so prove it. That is not an unreasonable position even if the timing and the political context make it deeply controversial.'
TVK candidate Vinoth Ravi is using a 3D hologram of actor-turned-politician Vijay to campaign for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, aiming to reach voters across the state.
The DMK has announced its candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, setting the stage for key battles with the AIADMK and other parties.
'The AIADMK front comes second, and then the TVK.'
The DMK's campaign appeared to be the most visible with propaganda at a feverish pace across the segment for the April 6 assembly polls and Stalin is the party's chief minister candidate.
Since the IPKF's withdrawal from Sri Lanka in March 1990, the LTTE's once-powerful influence in Tamil Nadu has faded.
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.
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.
The Tamil Nadu Toddy Movement had met both Chief Minister Palaniswami and Stalin to seek their intervention in lifting the ban on toddy-tapping and had submitted petitions, but there it remained. So the matter is being taken to the people's court.
Palaniswami has won from Edappadi four times (1989, 1991, 2011 and 2016) and the region is among the strongholds of the ruling party.
Stalin, 68, was contesting as the chief ministerial candidate for the first time during these polls. He was elected unopposed as the DMK chief in August 2018, after the death of his father, a post that Karunanidhi held for 49 years. That didn't come as a surprise to anyone, as during his lifetime, Karunanidhi, on multiple occasions made his preference for his successor abundantly clear and systematically groomed him for the job.
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
Polling to elect representatives to the 140-member Kerala assembly, 232-member Tamil Nadu assembly and the 30-member Puducherry territorial assembly began at 7 am on Monday.
It will be interesting to see who will represent the constituency as its first MLA in the Tamil Nadu assembly.
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.
Ending its decade long stint in the opposition, even relegated to the third spot in the House in 2011, the M K Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam made a spirited comeback to the ruling saddle to unseat its rival the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
A Dravidian outfit has alleged that Rajinikanth uttered a 'blatant lie' that the images of Lord Ram and Sita were taken nude in a rally held by Periyar as part of superstition eradication conference in 1971 at Salem.
More than 750 constituencies spread across four states and one union territory will go to the polls on Tuesday
The AIADMK bagged 134 seats as counting of votes was taken up for 232 of the 234 assembly constituencies. Polling in two constituencies has been postponed to May 23.
Rajinikanth said he stood by his comments made on Periyar, maintaining that they were factual and refused to apologise as demanded by fringe Dravidian outfits. DMK chief advised him to exercise caution while expressing views on Periyar.
The assembly polls in the state have shown that the GenNext voters want change -- not necessarily of leaderships but of their behaviour, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
