He said whoever supported the Palaniswami rule cannot go to the people for votes.
'There are many people like me who were kept away from Jayalalithaa.' 'There is a coterie who did not allow her to meet people.'
Truth be acknowledged, Rajinikanth is not known for wanting to leave his comfort zone to take the politico-electoral plunge, even if it meant his becoming the chief minister of a state that has conferred Tamil cinema's superstardom on him over the past 25 years. Today, his fans belong to the younger generation all right, but their numbers are far fewer than their counterparts in the '90s. They are not devoid of personal ambitions and agendas, unlike what Rajinikanh wants them to be, if he and they were to enter politics, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which has often been mocked by opponents for not having a well-defined ideological plank, seems to have finally found its calling in Bengali sub-nationalism, as a section of top party leaders feel only an 'inclusive message of regionalism, which the Bengalis can identify with, will counter the aggressive nationalism and Hindutva practised by the saffron camp'.
Given India's political scenario, where parties seek votes on the basis of caste and religion, the issue of using mother tongue in schools is more of a political vendetta, says Devanik Saha
The truce, even if it is not permanence peace, will come under stress and test during the pending polls to rural local bodies in nine revenue districts and urban polls across the state, including those for 16 municipal corporations, starting with Chennai, the oldest and largest, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The judiciary has often shied away from contesting the speaker's right or that of the legislature, but it has not always avoided taking a close look at the processes employed and arrive at conclusions that are binding on all concerned, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
We should be ready beforehand and I agree that if we have to go for alliances then the formalities of those alliances should be completed as soon as possible
The DMK still wants to look elsewhere for excuses to its electoral debacle, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
V Narayanasamy was on Monday sworn in as the tenth chief minister of Puducherry.
The Karnataka government on Wednesday launched its ambitious initiative to supply 30 kg of rice at Rs 1 to nearly one crore poor families across the state that would entail an outgo of Rs 4,200 crore a year.
With an eye on the Lok Sabha elections, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party is expected to chalk out a strategy today. AAP's national executive is holding a meet at Delhi's Constitution Club to draw up a plan for the general elections.
The Congress party continues to be racked by arbitrary decision-making and the absence of accountability.
IPL can be truly said to have come of age. It is now more Indian than ever before. Teams often fielded fewer than the four allowed foreign players. Indian batters and bowlers were simply better in performance, consistency and reliability, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
DMK leader MK Stalin is concerned that a no-trust move would force the EPS faction to patch up with not only the OPS group but also the TTV camp and also get the 'Two Leaves' poll symbol unfrozen, which could upset his party's electoral apple cart, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Palaniswami and Paneerselvam joined to oust Dinakaran and EC cancelled R K Nagar by-election.
'Amit Shah was, briefly, a stockbroker before devoting himself to politics. By instinct or training, he knows the value of keeping blue chips in one's portfolio.'
The campaign has gathered steam for the June 27 bypoll contest in Tamil Nadu featuring Chief Minister Jayalalithaa as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam workers are going all out to ensure her victory against the lone Communist Party of India challenger.
More than the traditional Dravidian political rivalry that's now on display, it's boiling down to father-son one-upmanship within the DMK, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vice President Dhankar's and Law Minister Rijuju's recent interventions have the danger of destabilising the Constitutional equilibrium, cautions N Sathiya Moorthy.
If there is unity in the Opposition, it is only about regional parties other than the DMK not wanting Rahul Gandhi or any other Congress leader for prime minister, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
TTV Dinakaran's road to reaching the poll stage could still be strewn with legal difficulties, as much as political problems from other new players, like actors Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The reshuffle had politics at its heart, so the biggest complement of new ministers, both Cabinet rank and below, came from UP, which will see assembly elections in a few months.
Venugopal is valued highly by Mrs Gandhi and Mr Gandhi. They consider him a loyalist, more to the point, one who can deliver.
The two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi, the AIKSCC has claimed.
What these elections prove beyond any doubt (if ever there was one) that Modi's hold over public mind and Shah's mastery of election management are unparalleled. It doesn't seem likely that they will be matched any time soon in the Indian political scene, reaffirms Shreekant Sambrani.
The imapsse continues over issues like bank scams and special status demand for Andhra Pradesh.
There is no denying that the Deepa identity has overnight caught the people's imagination across the state. But converting that into an imagery and from there as support and vote-base is a different matter altogether, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Away from the distraction of its new high-profile politics, Wayanad's worries seemed very down to earth, discovers Shyam G Menon.
Ahead of the assembly elections next year, the BJP has been wallowing in a welter of ideas that has resurrected the debate on populism versus pragmatism, as it has to pander to two important but incompatible constituencies, of the freebie consuming masses and Bengaluru's heavy hitters craving for even roads, pristine lakes and unbroken power supply, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Opposition leaders believe this entire plan has been put in place to ensure that Mamata Banerjee is kept out of office in West Bengal.
Yechury has dropped enough hints that a fight is in the offing at the Hyderabad conclave in April, where any member may move an amendment to the draft on the party's electoral line. Archis Mohan reports.
The message for 2024 is that the man on the street is not going to be euphoric if the G-20 crowns Modi as king-emperor for 2023, or if India sends its first man to space just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Even a 'temple consecration' in Ayodhya, or a Uniform Civil Code, or both of them together, may not have enough electoral purchase if fuel and commodity prices are not rolled back, and money-in-the-pocket does not fatten, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The MLAs have been disqualified with effect from Monday, under the 1986 Tamil Nadu Assembly Members Party Defection Law.
He laid stress on workers' connection with the ground and cited his own example when he was party in-charge for various assembly elections in the past.
'As soon as the BJP feels they are going to lose power, they will publish the caste census data of 2011 and conduct the caste census of 2021.'
By presenting the battle in Bengal as one between Mamata on one side and Modi-Shah on the other, the saffron camp has projected the former as a larger-than-life figure, a portrayal which has the potential of turning her into Modi's main competitor in 2024, predicts Amulya Ganguli.
While some would give the BJP full marks for starting early in the only state in the south where it stands a chance, the 'party with a difference' has fallen back on a tainted leader.
Rediff.com takes a look at record-setting wins in Indian politics.
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
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