A Ganesh Nadar reports on the bye-elections in Sankarankovil in Thirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, the first test of strength since last year's assembly elections, in which friends-turned-foes Jayalalithaa and Vijayakanth face off against each other
Is the unusually and unbearably scorching Sun and the general laxity, bordering on laziness, among voters, responsible, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Election Commission (EC) must have the power to deregister a political party in case of a violation of the mandatory conditions for registration and for breach of laws, the Supreme Court was told by a petitioner on Monday.
Dravida Munetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi was on Thursday reelected to Rajya Sabha with Congress support from Tamil Nadu after a contest with actor Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam candidate.
The DMK will not stop till Tamil Nadu got exemption from the central qualifying test, Stalin said.
The salary and allowances of MLAs has been raised from Rs 55,000 to Rs 1.05 lakh a month.
Recalling that he had already informed the House that the government would not make any compromises in case of allegations of violation of human rights during police custody, Stalin said he had ordered the suspension of ASP Balveer Singh accordingly.
The move came even as deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, while speaking in the state assembly earlier in the day, sought to go by the version of the Tamil Nadu DGP who has rubbished reports of attacks on Hindi-speaking people in that state.
The 79-year old leader, who served as the chief minister of Kerala twice, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru at 4.25 am. His end came while undergoing treatment for cancer, party sources said.
For a party that has adopted the successful social re-engineering model from Gujarat, Rajasthan and across the rest of the 'Hindi belt' over the past decades, Tamil Nadu continues to remain a tricky customer, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah on Saturday invited Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to form the government after she apprised him of her election as leader of All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam Legislature Party.
The by-elections to 18 assembly constituencies will decide if the ruling AIADMK remains in power or not.
'With the deaths of Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi, the BJP and Congress thought that they had a chance.' 'They have conceded that power is with the Dravidian parties.'
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday announced a series of appointments, including retaining party president and Chief Minister M K Stalin's son Udhayanidhi as its youth wing secretary, and replaced Kanimozhi with Helen Davidson in the women's wing.
There was also no stay of the disqualification of rebel AIADMK MLAs.
Former Attorney general Soli Sorabjee earlier in the day said that the Jallikattu Bill will pose a serious constitutional challenge.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Even as Karnataka continues to release water to Tamil Nadu as per the directive of the Cauvery River Waters Authority, all the members of Legislative Assembly from the Janata Dal-Secular have tendered their resignations against this move by the Karnataka government.
In an apparent bid to stem any further erosion in his party against the backdrop of four of his members of Legislative Assembly meeting Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, actor-politician and Opposition Leader Vijayakant on Monday sought a meeting with her to discuss constituency-related issues.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday named Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and its general secretary Arun Singh as central observers for the election of the leader of its legislative party in Assam.
The Tamil Nadu government today decided to abolish Common Entrance Tests for admission to professional courses.
The Telangana issue assumed centre stage on Thursday night as Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily held consultations with Congress members of Legislative Assembly and members of Parliament. Though a lot of hope was pinned by the Telangana leaders on this meeting there was absolutely no decision taken on issue of statehood, say insiders. However, the mass resignation programme by these elected representatives will be put on hold till the assembly elections in five states.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Wednesday described as "mischievous" reports that his government had misused its discretionary powers in allotting prime land to scores of people, including members of Legislative Assembly, politicians and top bureaucrats.
The Kerala government on Thursday affirmed its commitment to build a new dam at Mullaperiyar in place of the 116-year old structure, saying its resolve to do so is based on the principle of 'water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala'. Governor H R Bhardwaj, in his address to the legislative assembly to mark the start of the budget session, made the comments.
Mody, the returning officer for the presidential election, said 115 nomination papers of 94 persons were received till Wednesday, of which 107 were rejected for not meeting the required criteria.
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.
In its resolve to put an end to the "colonial mindset" of elite clubs and others in banning entry of people wearing traditional attire "dhoti", Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday introduced a bill in the state assembly, which seeks to make such practices a cognisable offence.
Bharatiya Janata Party nominee S Selvaganapathy was declared elected unopposed to the lone seat in Rajya Sabha from Puducherry, the first time the saffron party has got representation in the Upper House from the Union Territory, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's two nominees, Kanimozhi N V N Somu and K R N Rajeshkumar, were elected without contest from Tamil Nadu.
A senior woman activist of non-governmental organisation outfit People's Union for Civil Liberties was sent to jail by a court in Andhra Pradesh after she was arrested over her Facebook post in which some "objectionable" comments were made against Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah and a Congress member of Legislative Assembly.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana agreed to hear next week the EC's plea after senior advocate Vikas Singh submitted a large number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail machines (VVPATs) are still being preserved and need to be released.
Leader of the House K Anbazhagan moved the resolution seeking to suspend A K Bose who represents Thiruparakundram constituency for Thursday's incident in the House.
Vigilance officials on Wednesday conducted raids in the premises of former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam minister NKKP Raja across Tamil Nadu in connection with a disproportionate assets case.
Six decades and more later, we are now captives of our identities. Every poll is based on elaborate calculations of electability of candidates on the basis of their castes and other narrow definers. That, along with voter promiscuity, is what defines our political culture, which remains stubbornly resistant to any change, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Should the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu not make the required five out of 22 by-election seats, or even otherwise, the temptation to poach, especially from the Congress or starting with the Congress may be high on Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisami's agenda, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The opposition Congress and Janata Dal Secular on Tuesday made a forceful plea in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly against notification of the 2007 Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award, underlining that the move would amount to grave injustice to the State's interests.
The actor met with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and discussed the political situation in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Justice K Suguna, while granting the interim stay, also ordered issue of notice, returnable by four weeks, to the secretary, State Legislative Assembly and chairman, Committee of Privileges and Stalin.
The court directed the Congress to explain whether they were adhering to COVID norms such as wearing face masks, and maintaining social distancing.
The stage is set for the second by-poll of the year in Tamil Nadu at Pudukottai on Tuesday where former friends All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam will fight each other, with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam choosing to skip the contest.
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