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.
There is nothing to suggest that the DMK stands to gain from the AIADMK split nor is there anything indicative of an extraordinary advantage for the BJP, independently or in the company of the AIADMK, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Already, the party brass had passed a resolution against admitting her into the organisation and it was seconded by the party's district units across the state, Palaniswami said.
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.
The case of the two Shiv Sena factions for legitimacy and the party symbol, 'Bow and Arrow', is now before the Election Commission. Whichever way the EC findings go, the other can be expected to move the Supreme Court. They would need a final verdict before the parliamentary polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Nishank's clarification, through a tweet in Tamil, comes in the backdrop of opposition to NEP in Tamil Nadu on the grounds that the policy allegedly imposed Hindi and Sanskrit.
Words and actions like those of R N Ravi and a vocal section of the state BJP have only added to Tamil fears and suspicions, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has released a draft to amend the Indian Ports Act, 1908, which aims to bring in sweeping reforms in the sector by bringing non-major ports into the national fold, creating a new mechanism for resolution of disputes, and empowering maritime state development council (MSDC). The draft bill will see comments from stakeholders before being tabled in Parliament. "The Indian Ports Act, 1908 is more than 110 years old. It has become imperative that the Act is revamped to reflect the present-day frameworks, incorporate India's international obligations, address emerging environmental concerns, and aid the consultative development of the ports sector in the national interest," the shipping ministry said.
Oppenheimer is a very politically significant film for our time, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
After days of deliberations, a point of conclusion was reached late Saturday night and Congress leader and Tamil Nadu in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters that the agreement was signed in "a spirit of cooperation" when the country was facing a 'threat' from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
An All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam youth wing secretary was among the three men arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the sensational 2019 sexual harassment case in Pollachi town, taking the total number of persons held so far to eight.
Thousands of people marched on the streets with Dravida Munnetra Kazagham president MK Stalin to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Chennai on Monday. Several senior leaders of opposition parties including that of Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam participated in the mega rally to register their protest against the new law.
'He will consolidate the Russian hold over the Eastern Russian majority provinces in Ukraine and quickly withdraw from the rest of Ukraine.' 'At all costs, the Russians should avoid attacking and capturing urban areas, else they risk getting into a quagmire,' cautions Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
Farmers from various parts of the country are protesting at Delhi borders against the three farm laws brought by the Centre, alleging that the legislations will hamper farming.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The 62-year old MLA, born on June 10, 1958 incidentally died on his 62nd birthday today and he is the first legislator victim of COVID-19 in the state and perhaps the first elected representative to die of the virus induced illness in the country. Anbazhagan battled severe COVID-19 triggered pneumonia and his health condition rapidly deteriorated early morning on Wednesday, Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre, where he was treated said in a statement.
Alagiri said he was doing all this to "save" the DMK following the demise of Karunanidhi.
India's stiff labour laws were one key issue that Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed with Prime Minister Modi on his recent visit.
A police release in Coimbatore said a case has been registered in the Ukkadam police station over the incident.
Dhankar wins vice presidential election by bagging more than 500 votes.
In a joint letter to the prime minister, the opposition leaders, including some chief ministers, have also demanded providing foodgrains to the needy, and giving Rs 6,000 per month to the unemployed.
For quite some time, there was speculation that actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam and the DMK would sign up with the strategist for the 2021 assembly polls.
Captain Amarinder Singh, Arvind Kejriwal, Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot recently alleged that the Centre's order transferring three IPS officers on deputation is interference in the functioning of West Bengal's administration.
The front-runner of course is party treasurer and long-serving party legislator, S Duraimurugan. A Vanniar by caste from the rival PMK-strong northern belt, Duraimurugan makes up for his weak political grounding through his debating skills in the assembly, and witty repartee, both inside and outside. Apart from caste and regional representation, personal loyalty to the leader would count even more -- but there is no death of loyal and competent candidates in the party for the post, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The alliance led by the DMK is starting with 15% votes while the AIADMK is starting from scratch.' 'Minority votes may be crucial'
"NCP president Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal president Sharad Yadav, DMK chief MK Stalin, Bihar's former deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, SP president Akhilesh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal among other opposition leaders will attend the oath-taking ceremony in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on December 17," said well-placed sources.
'One quiver cannot have two different kinds of arrows.' 'The party cannot progress with two leaders.'
Jayalalithaa, who took oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the sixth time, said if she would have been informed she would have instructed the officers in charge of the arrangements to provide a seat to Stalin in the first row, relaxing the norms in the Protocol Manual.
The Bengal outcome can have a marginal impact on national politics. Whereas elections in UP next year might still change the course ahead of the parliamentary poll in 2024, observes Virendra Kapoor.
'Tamil Nadu will never allow the Centre's three-language policy'
The revived factionalism in the AIADMK, if not curbed now, has the potential to split the party vertically, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
CPI-M veteran Pinarayi Vijayan, who led the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to an unprecedented consecutive victory in the April 6 assembly polls, on Thursday took oath as chief minister of Kerala for the second time along with 20 ministers.
Confidence vote stalled after ruckus by opposition.
M K Stalin also opposed the naming of government schemes after her and "the use of taxpayers' money for her 69th birthday celebrations" on Friday.
'Cultural nationalism or the victim card that you play is okay when people are well fed.' 'But if you are not well fed, then it puts a question mark (on your leadership).'
Notably, leaders of 13 Opposition parties on Saturday expressed deep concern over the recent incidents of hate speech and communal violence in the country and urged people to maintain peace and harmony.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday said it would soon move a no-confidence motion against Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal as it accused him of "deliberately harping on his community to malign" the party.
Earlier, KCR had met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as part of efforts to build a non-Congress, non-BJP third front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
This time round, even 'petrol coupons' were reportedly distributed for those attending campaign rallies, especially those addressed by top leaders, cutting across party lines. If this owed to the rising cost of petrol and diesel -- which is a poll issue this time -- there were the customary coupons for 'quarter' (liquor bottle size) and non-vegetarian biryani. Some media reports claimed that some of these 'crowds' attended more than one political rally on the same day in the last week, and at times for rival political parties in adjoining constituencies or districts, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
