If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
The AIADMK has released its final list of candidates for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, including nominees to contest against prominent DMK leaders. The party is contesting in alliance with the BJP, AMMK and PMK.
As industrial plants boost the village's profile, locals demand priority hiring, alongside better storage facilities and water security.
'98 lakhs in Bengal, 97 lakhs in Tamil Nadu, 2.83 crores in Uttar Pradesh.'
Whether Vijay has the political spine to stitch together a stable government from this patchwork of conditions, demands, and midnight drama is the question Tamil Nadu is living through right now.
'The TVK might form a minority government.'
The DMK party in Tamil Nadu has released its manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections, promising a range of welfare measures focused on women, education, and economic development, including financial assistance and job creation initiatives.
A look at the profiles of the ministers in the new Tamil Nadu government led by Joseph C Vijay of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
In Tiruppur (North), where the TVK victory margin of 69,992 votes was higher than the 61,760 votes polled by the major Dravidian parties combined -- DMK got 351 votes and AIADMK 61,409 votes.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar informed TVK chief Vijay that his party lacks the necessary support to form the government. TVK is intensifying efforts to gain support from Left parties, VCK, and IUML. The Governor's decision has sparked protests and political debate in the state.
'Vijay did not defeat Dravidian politics from outside. He entered the Dravidian field and claimed ownership of it. 'His argument was not that the room should be destroyed. It was that the present occupants no longer deserved to remain in it.'
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Thursday said that it will move the Supreme Court against the delimitation bill, if it is passed in the Parliament.
'...the enormous responsibility and faith the youth has put on his shoulders, that he is going to solve their problems.'
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Like his father Karunanidhi and AIADMK rivals MGR and Jayalalithaa, Stalin would like to confine his real political work to Tamil Nadu, and not want to take after the late Congress leader K Kamaraj and take up a national role, even if to create greater political space for son Udhayanidhi, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The AIADMK will lose a lot of votes simply because it is aligned with the BJP.'
'The reason why they rushed through the bill was they wanted to avoid using the 2026 Census because the 2026 Census by their own decision will be a caste census.' 'The BJP knows that a significant share of the OBCs who will get captured in the census, for the first time after the 1931 Census, are against the BJP. Only a segment of the OBCs are in their favour.' 'So they wanted to avoid the OBC reservation among women, which is a demand of a lot of Opposition parties.'
'The AIADMK and DMK have 75% of the total votes. 25% of the voters do not support the two majors,' says DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai.
'Looking at the situation purely on its Constitutional merits, the governor's conduct is defensible.' 'He is saying: You do not have a majority, so prove it. That is not an unreasonable position even if the timing and the political context make it deeply controversial.'
At least 18 people were charred to death, and six others sustained grievous injuries following a massive explosion at a private firecracker manufacturing unit near Virudhunagar, the police said on Sunday.
'The AIADMK front comes second, and then the TVK.'
Former AIADMK Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, expelled from the party in 2022, has joined the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, marking a significant political shift.
'EPS exposed all the traitors. The DMK has given them political asylum. They are political orphans.'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M K Stalin on Friday asserted that "there will be no rest" until amending the Constitution to fix timelines for governors to clear bills.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) has announced its departure from the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, citing the DMK's 'big brother' attitude and unmet demands.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
The Vanniyar vote can tip the balance in 70 to 75 assembly constituencies of the 234 in the state, mainly in the Ranipet, Vellore, Thiruppathur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Arani, Villupuram and Kallakurichi districts.
Vijay termed the assembly polls due in April this year as a "surprising election" as all parties in the state are allegedly teamed up against him and reiterated that the contest was between the DMK and TVK only.
CM Stalin assured that such a tragedy "should never happen" in the future either.
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on Thursday saw a massive voter participation during the ongoing assembly elections, with turnout reaching 89.93 per cent and 82.24 per cent respectively by 5 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
TVK chief Vijay announces his candidacy from two constituencies for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, marking his entry into electoral politics.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contacted Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and TVK party president Vijay following the Karur stampede, expressing concern and offering condolences. The incident resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries, prompting investigations and compensation announcements.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday admitted that 'as of now, some assurances such as getting NEET scrapped', could not be fulfilled.
'We will give Rs 25,000 to parents having a second child or more at the time of delivery itself.'
TVK candidate Vinoth Ravi is using a 3D hologram of actor-turned-politician Vijay to campaign for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, aiming to reach voters across the state.
The DMDK officially joined the DMK-led alliance ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections, marking a significant political development in the state.
'Remember Vijay had never spoke of himself as a Christian when he was a film star.' 'The BJP strategy is they want the Christian minority constituency to move away from the DMK.' 'That is what the BJP wants so that it will be very easy to mobilise Hindu votes.' 'This strategy is to weaken the Dravidian ideology and bring in religion based politics into Tamil Nadu.'
Senior Congress functionary Praveen Chakravarty has questioned the DMK's flagship women's assistance scheme, suggesting it's superstitious to believe it alone will ensure electoral success, citing examples of similar schemes failing to secure victories for other parties.
