With an eye on assembly elections scheduled in another four months in Tamil Nadu, archrivals M Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa on Thursday virtually turned their customary New Year greetings into poll messages. Karunanidhi said his government's initiatives like the new Assembly-Secretariat complex in Chennai, the five-day World Classical Tamil conference in Coimbatore, celebrations to mark the 1000th year existence of the temple at Thanjavur were the proud achievements.
Overall, the Thalaivi trailer is a convincing experience, says veteran Tamil Nadu politics watcher N Sathiya Moorthy.
Lashing out at his 'personal attacks' against party chief M Karunanidhi, the Dravidra Munnetra Kazagham on Monday demanded an unconditional apology from Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju and warned of legal action against him if he continued with his tirade against the leader.
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
Seeking to turn the tables on the opposition which is promising prohibition if voted to power, CM Jayalalithaa assured a dry law in Tamil Nadu in a staggered manner.
R Rajagopalan, who travelled through Tamil Nadu, says it will be an election of many firsts.
Dravida Munnetra Kazahagam on Monday said it has decided to file an appeal against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's acquittal in a wealth case by the Karnataka high court.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday claimed that additional "evidence" had emerged about 2G spectrum scam showing alleged roles of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi, his daughter Kanimozhi and a top police officer of Tamil Nadu.
Hardening its stand, key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday slammed the Centre for its "lukewarm" response on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and threatened to walk out of the ruling alliance if it failed to move amendments to the US-sponsored resolution at the UNHRC.
Mamata Banerjee fended off a spirited challenge by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal with a landslide victory for her Trinamool Congress on Sunday for a third consecutive term and the saffron party and the Left Democratic Front were poised to form government again in Assam and Kerala respectively while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam stormed back to power in Tamil Nadu after a gap of 10 years.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi and other senior leaders prevailed over party Treasurer M K Stalin to reconsider his decision to quit party posts owning moral responsibility for its rout in Lok Sabha elections, with his brother and Madurai-based expelled leader M K Alagiri describing it as a "drama."
The DMK still wants to look elsewhere for excuses to its electoral debacle, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The former India captain was speaking at a felicitation function organised for CSK for winning the 2021 edition of IPL.
Amid threat to pull out Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ministers and quit the United Progressive Alliance coalition on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, party chief M Karunanidhi made a fresh demand insisting that Parliament adopt a resolution incorporating the two amendments he had suggested to the government to be moved on the US-backed resolution at the UNHRC.
Joining issue with Narendra Modi over criticism of his party besides ruling All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam, Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Monday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader's comments will only earn him the wrath of people of Tamil Nadu but remained tightlipped on Rajnikanth's praise for the Gujarat chief minister.
Amid uproar over the Central Bureau of Investigation's raids against his son M K Stalin, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Thursday gave a guarded reaction on whether the action was a case of political vendetta. The DMK patriarch said it could be possible that the raids happened without the knowledge of the United Progressive Alliance government.
The BJP top leader's Tamil pitch assumes significance Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had some days back alleged that the saffron party had no respect for Tamil language and culture.
'The AIADMK gets votes from all sections of the minorities.' 'By aligning with the BJP the AIADMK stands to lose that vote'
The attack comes against the backdrop of the actress's interview to a Tamil magazine in which she reportedly spoke about Stalin's elevation as heir-apparent.
Stating that she shared the concerns of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi regarding Sri Lankan Tamils issue, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi has told him that she "shall take up the matter" with the external affairs minister.
Tamil Nadu's politics returns to being bi-polar, and that's a good thing, says B Srikumar.
Sibling rivalry in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam came to the fore for yet another time on Saturday, with the party high command dissolving a Madurai unit and replacing it with a temporary body dominated by supporters of its Treasurer M K Stalin.
Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council will be taken only after a discussion with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi.
With election campaign ending in Tamil Nadu before it goes to polls on Thursday, N Sathiya Moorthy lists a few questions uppermost in the minds of voters.
M K Stalin might not have his father's charisma, but he has learnt the ropes the long, hard way, feels T E Narasimhan
TTV Dhinakaran's call to the Congress to break up with the DMK and tie up with him, is aimed at consolidating the traditional anti-BJP votes. The stronger message is to all anti-BJP constituencies in the state, especially the minorities and traditionally aligned sections of the Dalit community, that he could be trusted to take forward an 'anti-Hindutva' agenda more seriously than anyone else, the DMK included, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi on Wednesday sought the Centre's intervention in making Tamil a language of the court in Madras high court.
Former Union Communication Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham leader Dayanidhi Maran, who stepped down from his post in the wake of allegations of a scam in 2011, is leaving no stone unturned to retain the Chennai Central parliamentary seat which he won twice consecutively.
Launching his campaign for the Presidential election in which he appears set for a cakewalk, United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday appealed to all political parties to back his candidature, apparently eyeing Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. Mukherjee met UPA's key partner Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's president M Karunanidhi at his residence in Chennai, formally kick-starting the campaign.
Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday accused the Jayalalithaa-led Tamil Nadu government of adopting 'double-standards' by opposing the Sethusamudram project in the Supreme Court and said it was a 'betrayal' of the state.
Stalin's personal intervention in the Adheenam row may have contained the avoidable political damage and social tensions at least for now, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The DMK will not regret parting company with the Congress as Karunanidhi knows that in this era of coalitions, it is impossible for the Congress-led government to seek a third term, given its track of record of scams. Even otherwise, the Congress has no base in Tamil Nadu where it has been out of power since 1967, says S Murari
Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam, a key ally of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, on Tuesday announced its participation in the nation-wide bandh on September 20 called by several non-UPA parties to protest the Centre's decision to hike diesel price, allow FDI in multi-brand retail and limit subsidised cooking gas.
The Modi government wants to have a smooth relationship with the DMK government.
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Monday condemned Dravida Munettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi for his 'outrageous' remarks against Indo-Sri Lanka relations at a pro-Eelam Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation meet.
Insiders in AIADMK headquarters confirmed that Jayalalitha, now 67, has been unwell for the past two months and undergoing medical treatment in her home in Chennai. Of course, she attends office for three hours every morning, and also took the oath of affirmation as a member of the Tamil Nadu assembly last week.
'The last four years was not Dravidian rule, it was BJP rule by proxy.'
A formal decision would be made on the Chief Ministerial candidate of the NDA once the Election Commission issues the notification for the assembly elections, expected in April-May, he said, adding the strategy was part of the ongoing exercise to strengthen the BJP in the state.
N Kalyanasundaram started saving up last year so that he could feed the hungry during the second COVID lockdown.
"The protest is a big success and there is a wave of dissatisfaction against the government," DMK chief M Karunanidhi said claiming over two lakh party workers courted arrest but police put the figure at 85,000.
