One of the standout stories of the TVK victory was that of 30-year-old R Sabarinathan, the son of Vijay's driver from Virugambakkam.
In apparent signs of thaw after years of bickering stemming out of internal feud in the AIADMK in the past, party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami welcomed Dhinakaran back in to the National Democratic Alliance. The AMMK founder reciprocated with a "heartfelt thanks," yet admitting there was "sibling rivalry" with AIADMK, the party he was once associated with.
N Rangasamy, nicknamed 'Junior Kamaraj' for his simple living and unassuming style, took sweet revenge on his former party Congress which unceremoniously removed him as chief minister of Puducherry. Sidelined by the Congress, Rangasamy felt humiliated and launched his own outfit All India N R Congress on the eve of the assembly polls and signed a poll pact with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Madhusudhanan, the party's presidium chairman, was the AIADMK's "unanimous" choice.
Senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan accused the BJP of nominating Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan for Vice President for electoral gains in Tamil Nadu. AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami urged support for Radhakrishnan, while other leaders offered mixed reactions.
Sasikala has applied for a 15-day parole to meet her ailing husband M Natarajan, who is awaiting a liver transplant.
The decision was taken after a discussion between the disqualified legislators and Dhinakaran in Madurai.
In the keenly-awaited judgment, Chief Justice Indira Banerjee upheld the September 18 order of Tamil Nadu assembly Speaker P Dhanapal disqualifying the MLAs, while Justice M Sundar disagreed with her and struck it down.
Admitted for fever and dehydration in September 2016 at the corporate hospital, Jaya breathed her last on December 5 the same year.
However, the EC is yet to make an official announcement in this regard.
The jailed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader had applied for 15-day parole on Monday, seeking temporary release to attend to her ailing husband, M Natarajan, 74, who is in the liver intensive care unit of a corporate hospital.
The court dismissed the plea filed by P Vetrivel, MLA, a supporter of sidelined AIADMK leader T T V Dinakaran, and imposed a cost of Rs one lakh on him for "wasting the time of the court".
The legislators moved out of the resort as it was already booked for the weekend, sources said.
Dinakaran recalled the difficulties faced by party workers in carrying forward their organisational work without a name.
They were distributing pamphlets which allegedly containing defamatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami.
Dinakaran said the value of his movable and immovable assets stood at Rs 74,17,807 -- immovable assets worth Rs 57.44 lakh and movable assets worth were Rs 16.73 lakh.
'The EPS camp feels assertiveness will help the AIADMK keep the BJP's seat-share ambitions to the minimum,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Delhi high court, on March 9, allowed Dinakaran's plea for allotment of a common symbol, preferably 'pressure cooker', and a name of his choice for the AIADMK faction led by him.
Even as the unity moves between the two AIADMK factions seem to be going nowhere, former chief minister O Panneerselvam is working on a grand alliance of other Opposition parties, reports R Rajagopalan.
Even as the actor-turned-politician said that it was just 'a courtesy call', speculation about a future alliance between them has been doing the rounds in the national capital, says R Rajagopalan.
The sidelined leader's victory is being seen as a worrying development both for AIADMK and principal opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which finished third behind the ruling party.
His comments come a day after state Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar claimed that 111 MLAs had attended the meet convened by the chief minister.
Panneerselvam had opposed the petition saying the whip was issued only to the 122 MLAs who were then camping in a resort and not his erstwhile group.
The likes of Sengottaiyan can help Vijay navigate it better and faster -- but not necessarily to his goal, which is farther, and can move towards or away from him as well in the weeks and months to come, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sasikala left Chennai on Thursday morning by a car which had to halt at several locations till it reached the Bengaluru highway as party cadres gathered to greet her.
'He was able to push the AIADMK to the background.'
"The result of the RK Nagar bypoll is an outcome of the tacit understanding between DMK working president M K Stalin and Dinakaran," Panneerselvam and Palaniswami said in a joint statement on Sunday night.
The power struggle in Tamil Nadu's main opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, appears set to go on for a long time with sidelined leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) approaching the Election Commission and the influential Edappadi K Palaniswami camp refusing to budge.
Key Dinakaran aide and legislator P Vetrivel said they would meet the governor at 10 am on Tuesday.
The 2015 RK Nagar bypoll, in which Jayalalithaa was elected by a huge margin of 1.5 lakh votes, had witnessed a record 75% turnout
On Saturday, in locations including Korukkupet at R K Nagar allegations of cash distribution were made against some men, whose identity was not known immediately.
Stalin, whose party has a strength of 89 members in the 234-member house, claimed his efforts were not aimed at taking DMK to power nor was there any intention of enjoying posts.
The court order is seen as a major embarrassment for the AIADMK as Palaniswami will be the first chief minister in the state to face a CBI probe over corruption charges.
Party sources indicated that there were "some ticklish issues" that were to be addressed by both groups, but declined to elaborate further.
Xi's presence in Mahabalipuram is more of a political message by Modi to the world -- as well as to regional parties in South India that they should be beware of the BJP's rise, says R Rajagopalan.
The Chief Minister Palaniswami camp, however, blamed the Sasikala family for the raids.
O Panneerselvam should not be surprised if the current controversy that he has kicked off is used to rid him of the party coordinator's post, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Despite drawing a blank in Tamil Nadu, its leaders in the state claimed they should strike roots without using a crutch at this "most opportune" time, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
His remarks came a day after the opposition led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam called for a CBI probe into the treatment and death of the former chief minister.
'No one was allowed to meet Jaya. Whoever came, would be briefed by Sasikala's relatives that she was 'all right',' Dindigul Srinivasan said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances