Tamil Nadu's voters wanted tough leaders at the helm, to the point of being autocratic. It was what Karunanidhi, MGR and Jayalalithaa ended up becoming, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The CM, along with Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, met the PM at his office in Parliament House.
The meeting also discussed the validity of the appointments made by Sasikala before going to jail.
From Chief Minister EK Palaniswami to Seeman to TTV Dhinakaran to elder brother M K Azhagiri, everyone's favourite target these days seems to the DMK chief Stalin, which is good news in an election year, but that doesn't mean he is going to sweep the polls, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ahead of expelled leader Sasikala's return on February 8 to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday lodged a complaint with police against her camp alleging a 'conspiracy' to unleash 'violence' and sought action to ensure peace in the state.
'Our party cadre does not want her in the party.'
The strike had affected inpatient, outpatient services and elective surgeries across Tamil Nadu.
Expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader V K Sasikala was set free on Wednesday by authorities after she completed four years imprisonment in a jail here in a case of disproportionate assets, setting off celebrations by her supporters in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
He was a nine-time MLA, one-time Lok Sabha member and former finance minister of Tamil Nadu and a close friend of former Chief Minister late Karunanidhi.
Both OPS and EPS say positive results are expected soon.
As some BJP pollsters concede, the Modi leadership's sweeping success in elections 2019, especially across central India, owed not to Hindutva ideology, but to welfare schemes, all of them borrowed from Tamil Nadu, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 37 seats, the AIADMK has to now contend with single digit tally, pushed to the third spot behind arch rival DMK and Congress despite fighting the polls as part of a "mega alliance" with parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party.
With both the factions pledging their support, the BJP believes that the natural corollary is for them to now merge and retain the two-leaves election symbol, a view shared by the prime minister as well.
Thambidurai, 71, was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on Tuesday and underwent an angiogram, they said without divulging any further details.
A portion of the 15-foot tall private compound wall, totally wet due to heavy rains lashing the area for the past few days, fell on the adjoining tiled-roof houses in Nadur village.
His investigations have not revealed anything alarming so far, it said. The 70-year old actor is scheduled for a further set of investigations on Saturday, reports of which would be available by the evening, it said.
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.
With the unanticipated floods across Tamil Nadu catching the unprepared administration unawares, Stalin finds that some of the early positives that had rubbed on his initiatives have been lost, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The video recording of the House proceedings on February 18 must be from the commencement till the end, the court said.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam maintained its winning streak in the two-phase local body elections in the nine newly created districts in Tamil Nadu trouncing the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which had earlier suffered defeat in the April 6 assembly election.
The BJP has been pushing the two AIADMK groups to merge and then get the Sasikala clan out of the party and government.
The chief government whip on Thursday sought their disqualification for alleged anti-party activities.
In signs of thaw on All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam merger move, the factions led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and the one by O Panneerselvam on Friday announced formation of their respective committees to hold discussions.
CM Palaniswami condoled the deaths and announced cash relief to their families, besides jobs for their kin.
A G Perarivalan alias Arivu is now a free man following a legal battle, and that long fight provides scope for throwback moments of Tamil sentiment that propelled the struggle which was backed by most political parties and successive governments in Tamil Nadu.
'Your strike rate is very important when it comes to seat-sharing.'
Ravi, shifted from Nagaland, said he saw his new role more as an opportunity than a challenge.
Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran sought to play down party's decision.
The CRPF said Kumar was under treatment at a force hospital in Hyderabad since February 12 for 'schizophrenia'.
However, the EC is yet to make an official announcement in this regard.
Expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazahagm leader VK Sasikala on Tuesday arrived in Chennai, 23 hours after her departure from Bengaluru, where she had served a four year jail term in a corruption case and also underwent treatment for COVID-19.
Emerging from a "consultative" meeting chaired by Chief Minister E K Palaniswami, Finance Minister D Jayakumar declared that the "unanimous" decision was taken in tune with the aspirations of the party cadres and people.
Teams of the NDRF have reached several places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as the two states brace themselves for cyclone Burevi.
The 62-year old MP representing Villupuram suffered serious head injuries and died on the spot on Saturday morning.
Taking up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister E K Palaniswami, in a letter, said the state government was "extremely" concerned over such incidents
The parleys, according to a BJP senior, were cordial and the deal is likely to be clinched soon.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam led the strike against the Centre.
Since the demise of former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo and chief minister J Jayalalithaa in December last year, Tamil Nadu's political scenario has witnessed unprecedented drama. Following is the chronology of major events in the southern state's ruling party.
As leaders go, while Modi's visits to the state will be watched with curiosity, Rahul will need to be dislodged from the popular consciousness -- Tamil Nadu is one state where he's present, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Venugopal told the court that he had given legal opinion to the AIADMK faction led by Panneerselvam.
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