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.
Karunanidhi had expelled Azhagiri and his supporters from the party in 2014 at the height of his fight with his younger brother M K Stalin over establishing supremacy in Tamil Nadu's main opposition party.
Petitions challenging the election of Union Minister M K Azhagiri, leader of Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam Parliamentary party T R Baalu and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Member of Parliament P Kumar have been filed in the Madras High Court, seeking to declare the poll outcome as null and void.
A week after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi declined to meet his grand nephews, the Maran brothers, a cable TV network backed by Karunanidhi's son M K Azhagiri was launched to counter the SUN TV channel owned by the Maran family.
Calculated or otherwise, if Azhagiri's firing of the first salvo after Karunanidhi's death does not create some space for him to politico-electorally exploit at a later date, there may not be any space left for him at all, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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Azhagiri said he was never implicated in criminal cases as alleged by the network.
The passengers, who reached Delhi by Kingfisher Airlines, missed their connecting flight as the flight from Srinagar was delayed. Officials of the airlines allegedly did not make alternative arrangements for their stay nor did they help them to catch another flight to Chennai.
Krishnakumar Padmanabhan finds out more about Azhagiri's meticulous planning, which preceeded his son's nuptials.
Stalin's remarks come at a time when Azhagiri has raised a banner of revolt.
In private, questions are being raised about the wisdom of a 'dual-SIM' leadership during the long run-up to the 2026 assembly polls where 'family rule' could become an election issue, reports N Sathiya Moorthy.
Udhayanidhi's 'untimely' elevation as deputy CM may be used against the party, for critics to argue that the DMK's 'first family's is not concerned about anything else but their clan's welfare. If packaged and delivered properly, some of the sting may stick at election time, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
His likable boy-next-door face and casual approach to public speaking have a unique appeal for the younger generation, but it stops there, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
What does Udhayanidhi's induction as minister mean? For the DMK, it indicates the future course, direction and leadership. It is continuity with change, and change with continuity, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The question wafting in the winds over the Vaigai riverbed is, has Karunanidhi's disgraced son accepted his fate? A Ganesh Nadar and Saisuresh Sivaswamy find out.
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin does not face any threat to his full-fledged succession as DMK chief, just now. If he were to face any threat, it would only be against 'non-performance' as the party boss, N Sathiya Moorthy.
From Chief Minister EK Palaniswami to Seeman to TTV Dhinakaran to elder brother M K Azhagiri, everyone's favourite target these days seems to the DMK chief Stalin, which is good news in an election year, but that doesn't mean he is going to sweep the polls, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu's voters wanted tough leaders at the helm, to the point of being autocratic. It was what Karunanidhi, MGR and Jayalalithaa ended up becoming, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Though another 75 candidates are in the fray, the Elangovan-Thennaruasu fight has become a prestige battle for the DMK and AIADMK, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The EPS camp believes that the BJP was already arm-twisting the AIADMK into conceding more seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections 'than they deserve' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
When the team heard about Rubina's loss in the recent Bandra fire, they presented her with two cheques.
In an apparent bid to put an end to the succession war ignited by his son and Union minister M K Azhagiri, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo M Karunanidhi has said that only the party has the authority to name a leader.
M K Azhagiri, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Thursday was acquitted along with 12 others by a sessions court in a case relating to the murder of a former Dravida Munnetra Kazgham minister for want of reliable evidence. Sessions Judge P Durga Prasad in a brief verdict observed that there was no reliable evidence to connect the accused with the murder of former minister T Kiruttinan. The judge said the detailed judgment would be pronounced on Friday.
Was it the sheer rise of Maran -- remember, the 41-year-old became a powerful Union minister in the very first opportunity he got -- that has caused the envy within the DMK and resulted in him being sidelined?
'There will be significant political traction for him. But how much, we don't know yet'
Images from Sunny Leone's Tamil debut.
Debutant director Manimaran talks about his film NH 4.
'It's a natural alliance and this alliance has been has been formed without compromising the core ideology of the AIADMK.'
The five-member Group of Ministers (GoM) also include Agriculture Minister Sharad Paward, Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Chemical and Fertiliser Minister M K Azhagiri, official sources said.
'They have been imposing Hindi on Tamil Nadu,' says DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai.
''He had given tools to fight all forms of homogenisation.'
A delegation of MPs from Tamil Nadu on Saturday arrived on a five-day visit to Sri Lanka, during which they will visit camps where Tamils displaced due to the civil war are currently lodged.
The ongoing 'Cable War' between the Marans-owned Sun Network and M K Azhagiri's Royal Cable Vision took another turn on Thursday, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi warning of legal action against the Sun Network if it did not share the feeds with the state-owned Arasu Cable TV Corporation.
With DMK's M K Stalin coming into his own, and the rival AIADMK too leaving no space for third parties, Tamil Nadu will remain a Dravidian stronghold for a long time, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The judges, however, refused to issue notice to the Union home secretary, the first respondent, and Azhagiri, the eighth respondent in the PIL.
Members of the chief minister's family, including his elder son M K Azhagiri in the eye of a political storm following the attack on the Dinakaran office at Madurai, were seen in the gallery.
Karunanidhi, who has always appeased Azhagiri when elections were around the corner, while pampering and promoting Stalin at all times and costs, will find Azhagiri hard to please this time around.
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