Given the history of the trial proceedings, and the documents that the judges and lawyers in the appeal courts have to read at every stage, Jayalalithaa's bail plea, when moved, will take time to be decided, placing a question mark over the party's electoral prospects in 2016.
With the presidential elections over, the time has come for Prime Minister Modi to show Tamil Nadu that the state's interests are safe under him, says R Rajagopalan.
'While appreciating the cultural significance of Jallikattu, the PM observed that the matter is presently sub judice,' the PMO tweeted.
Every vote now counts in the Tamil Nadu assembly, as the ruling party is walking on a wafer-thin majority. The Opposition DMK-led combine has 98 MLAs on their side, and with four others who had won on the AIADMK's 'Two Leaves' symbol in 2016 but do not belong to the party, per se, playing hide-and-seek with the party leadership, Dhinakaran with two or three other MLAs can give sleepless nights for the ruling party than their post-verdict celebrations may seemingly indicate, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Coming as it does only months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Chennai meet could provide the launch pad for a national alternative to the BJP-NDA, and MK Stalin may be given the credit for getting it going, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The political stability that Tamil Nadu saw under Chief Minister Jayalalithaa may be a thing of the past, as the new administration struggles to find its feel, says R Rajagopalan.
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.
The Karnataka high court will hear jailed former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa's application on Wednesday seeking immediate bail and suspension of conviction and jail sentence in the disproportionate assets case.
Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar journeys through villages and towns, districts and cities for a reality check.
The Supreme Court on Monday held that Tamil Nadu government has no right to appoint advocate Bhawani Singh as special public prosecutor to appear in Karnataka High Court for J Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets case.
Given the international practice, it is inexplicable why the government is going with anonymous electoral bonds.
Unpredictable polling in Tamil Nadu, and criminal cases stacked against Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will be two key factors to be taken into consideration when the government is formed at the Centre, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Police later let the legislators off after a brief detention at a marriage hall. Stalin demanded the dismissal of the AIADMK government over the issue of the alleged pay-offs.
'The Congress must honour the mandate. The mandate is clearly for the BJP.'
Ending three-week long suspense, Karnataka government on Monday decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others in the disproportionate assets case.
Formalities for release of All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa, who has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in the disproportionate assets case, from the prison in Bangalore would be completed by Friday evening, a top jail official said.
Opposition members trooped into the Well, resorting to high-decibel sloganeering.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam workers on Sunday organised poojas in temples and took out processions praying for a favourable judgement.
For Stalin and the DMK, the declaration was the essence of the commencement of seat-sharing talks with the Congress, and even more, the launch of their combined campaign for the LS polls. That meant the DMK had to send out a message also to the 'minorities' in the state, who had deserted the DMK and very badly at that in the critical, post-Jaya R K Nagar assembly bypolls last year, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Members from parties like the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Left parties and the Rashtriya Janata Dal created uproar in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha as soon as the Houses met for the day.
In Tamil Nadu, Divya Nair encounters jallikattu, a ban on colas and a water shortage.
In the absence of the over-arching 'Jaya charisma', EPS has to convince the AIADMK's traditional constituencies, including those in his western districts, that his leadership would stand up against the BJP-led Centre even in a post-poll scenario, a la Jayalalithaa, and would not yield as much as party founder MGR had done, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
While the Rajya Sabha had exactly six years ago passed the Women's Reservation Bill, the legislation has since been pending in Lok Sabha.
Three way split of AIADMK has slowed decision-making, prompting industry to look outside the state, says T E Narasimhan.
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.
Given Modi's penchant for springing a surprise, the BJP nominee for next President could be anyone. The only thing certain is that it will be an RSS person, reports R Rajagopalan.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Subrmanian Swamy and Congress' Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday came out in unison to assail the criminal defamation law before the Supreme Court which said that lodging of cases for political speech and debates under the controversial provisions should be avoided.
The late chief minister was on and off ventilator and often also interacted after being admitted for fever and dehydration, Richard Beale told a news conference.
The acquittal allows her to plan a new political path and also prepare her party for the assembly elections scheduled next year.
Until very late on Saturday night her followers -- mostly cabinet ministers -- camped outside the prison. They were seen holding the prison walls and crying. Despite several attempts by the police to send them away, they refused to budge.
'As she has been sentenced to 4 years in prison, her disqualification period begins after that for 6 years, totaling the next 10 years of her life, which may indicate that her legislative career in politics is over for the time being.'
The AIADMK supremo retained 13 of her ministers, who were in the previous cabinet, besides inducting 17 new faces including four women.
'What we see here is puppetry. The string is with the BJP.' 'All the puppets here are dancing to the direction the BJP pulls the strings.'
A full one year after Jayalalithaa was hospitalised on the night of September 22, 2016, followed by long hospitalisation and death on December 5, Tamil Nadu continues to be rocked by instability and non-governance of every which kind, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail plea to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa, who is lodged in a Bangalore jail after her conviction in the disproportionate assets case.
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.
The BJP calculates that simultaneous polls to Parliament and TN assembly could help it, intent as it is on making the state break from its Dravidian past, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa was acquitted on Monday by the Karnataka high court in the 19-year-old disproportionate assets case, a verdict that is sure to put her back in the Tamil Nadu chief minister's seat.
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