'It is a fiercely fought battle, like our fiery chillies in Guntur.'
Russia is keen to strengthen economic ties with India.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa was on Saturday sworn in for the fifth time as chief minister of Tamil Nadu amid celebrations by party cadres and supporters all over the state.
With a Sukhoi fighter aircraft, a special air craft from Indian Space Research Organization and another low flying aircraft of the state government completing a comprehensive aerial survey of Nallamalla forest area to find missing Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Rajashekhara Reddy's helicopter on Wednesday night and gathering crucial data including the photographs, focus of the search operation on Thursday will move to the ground.
A cake, special poojas and a slew of welfare activities marked the 67th birthday of Jayalalithaa.
Since the Supreme Court has banned the bull-taming sport of Jallikattu, normally conducted on Mattu Pongal day, the festival is expected to be low-key in Madurai and neighbouring districts, where it is widely popular.
After an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced an immediate release of Rs 1,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation works in Tamil Nadu.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders on Saturday met Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah to press the party's demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the June 28 building collapse near Porur, which killed 61 people.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa won the R K Nagar by-polls by over 1.5 lakh votes on Tuesday. According to reports, Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah congratulated her on the victory.
Thousands of people hailing 'Puratchi Thalaivi Amma' (Revolutionary Leader Amma) walked with the cortege.
It has been virtually a ten-year wait that's coming to a happy end for the 47-year-old leader, who nurtured the ambition of becoming chief minister soon after his father's death in September 2009.
AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa will be sworn in for the fifth time as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Saturday along with 28 ministers.
Two persons were killed and nine injured when an 11-storeyed under construction building collapsed near suburban Porur on Saturday with rescue efforts on by multiple agencies, including National Disaster Response Force.
The harvest festival of Pongal was celebrated across Tamil Nadu on Friday, though the festivity was low key in southern districts, including Madurai, following the Supreme Court ban on the bull taming sport of Jallikattu.
Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah on Friday accepted the resignation of Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and invited All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa to form the new government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned 64 on Wednesday, arrived in Gandhinagar to seek his mother's blessings.
'Her elevation in public life signified the end of parochial extremism and hate on a casteist basis.'
O Panneerselvam is the first chai-wallah to become chief minister in the country. Gujarat's Narendra Modi, the better-known chai-wallah to become chief minister, followed Paneerselvam around a fortnight later in 2001. The parallel should end there, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Legislators from the Andhra-Seema belt say that Kiran Kumar Reddy ready knew about the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh since December. Vicky Nanjappa reports
In a spontaneous outpouring of grief, thousands of people bid an emotional farewell to former President APJ Abdul Kalam who was on Thursday laid to rest with full state honours in his home town here amid chants of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's celebrations on amma's return are peppered with possibilities, probabilities and problems of one kind or the other, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Violence broke out in several parts of Tamil Nadu today after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was convicted in a graft case with angry All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supporters indulging in stone pelting and arson and forcing closure of shops.
The Karnataka government is divided over filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of former Tamil Nadu chief minister. N Sathiya Moorthy analyses the possibilities
Even as an enthused AIADMK cadre celebrate their Amma's return, if the Supreme Court stays the Karnataka high court judgment in the disproportionate assets case, Jayalalithaa may once again lose her chief ministership. R Ramasubramanian reports from Chennai.
The moot point is if a re-energised Jayalalitha will order snap polls when the Opposition is in disarray and her own political starts are on the rise, says N Nathiya Moorthy.
Now that an elected chief minister is at the helm, it is high time the Centre initiate discussions to appoint a full-time governor at the earliest, given that the state is set to face some challenging times, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
With Tamil Nadu's electoral fate decided, all eyes would now veer round to the pending 'disproportionate assets case' against Jayalalithaa in the Supreme Court, and Stalin's own future within the DMK, says N Sathiya Moorthy.