Raja said though the icon of the Dravidian movement, Thanthai Periyar stood for an independent Tamil Nadu, the DMK moved away from it.
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.
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
Four and a half crore voters will decide the fate of 2,773 candidates.
'It makes law-making on the part of the state governments much more difficult and throws up bottlenecks as governors are not acting on bills.'
Six months after its India debut, the Vietnamese automaker has overtaken established players such as Hyundai Motor, BMW, Kia, and Chinese EV major BYD.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday appointed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M K Stalin as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and invited him to form the government after he staked claim, submitting a letter on his election as legislature party leader.
'The BJP will be the ruling party.'
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar clarified that Rahul Gandhi has only asked the state government to continue the good work, dismissing media reports of a specific message. Speculation arose after a brief conversation between Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Shivakumar.
With the assembly elections in fast approaching, the campaign juggernaut has started rolling through the streets of Tamil Nadu. While the 2G-scam hit Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam is doing everything it can to regain its popularity, Jayalalitha's whirlwind campaign is only gathering more steam. Rediff.com analyses the situation in poll-bound Tamil Nadu as election fever grips the state.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu's new CM was among the senior ministers who had proximity to Jayalalithaa.
Actor-politician Vijay announced his retirement from cinema at the audio launch of his movie 'Jana Nayagan' in Malaysia, citing his dedication to his fans. The event, attended by nearly 1 lakh fans, featured emotional speeches and performances, marking Vijay's farewell before his political career.
'Stalin's intention is plain and simple.' 'The DMK wants to convert what is an 'incumbency-centred' election for the party-led alliance into one more 'Modi/BJP election' after Stalin's successive success in 2019 and 2021, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Pon Radhakrishnan also stated that Naxals, Maoists and Muslim extremists may have intruded into some of the media houses too.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dig up the perceived past of the DMK rival, now under a new leader in M K Stalin, may not gel with the voters, both old and new. If they are still going to vote for the AIADMK-BJP combine, it will be for entirely different reasons, and despite Modi's poll speeches, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Governor S S Barnala accepted the resignation of Karunanidhi and his council of ministers (with effect) from this afternoon, a Raj Bhavan communique said. Accepting the resignation, Barnala has asked the 87 year-old leader and his colleagues to continue functioning in the present capacity as he appreciated the advice and co-operation offered by the DMK president
M K Alagiri, the disgruntled son of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch M Karunanidhi, has reached out to the Bharatiya Janata Party with an offer of support in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Ravi He made fervent appeal to Chief Minister M K Stalin and Speaker M Appavu for singing the National Anthem but they "cussedly refused," the Governor's office alleged in a post on social media post 'X.'
Defending champions India have unveiled a well-rounded 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup
'It is like, all crimes are done by north Indians and it is difficult to track them, so get their details. This sort of profiling, I have not seen anywhere.' Chennai activist Madhumita Dutta speaks out!
For a party that has adopted the successful social re-engineering model from Gujarat, Rajasthan and across the rest of the 'Hindi belt' over the past decades, Tamil Nadu continues to remain a tricky customer, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The BJP doesn't have to do anything except nudge the AIADMK in one direction.'
Vijayakanth's DMDK may play a key role as Tamil Nadu's political parties scramble for allies to capture the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has refused to address the joint sitting of the state legislature, prompting government intervention. The reasons are unclear, but follow similar incidents in other states.
'The financial situation of Tamil Nadu is much worse than it was in 2016.' 'The finance minister's is a horrendous job.' 'I am certainly not going to ask for it.'
The Tamil Nadu government today decided to abolish Common Entrance Tests for admission to professional courses.
'The feeling is that Rajinikanth is pro-Modi than anti-Modi.'
The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution on Thursday condemning the Centre's proposed Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, calling for its recall. Chief Minister M K Stalin argued that the amendment interferes with religious affairs and would negatively impact the Muslim minority. The resolution was unanimously passed by the Assembly, with support from all parties, including the opposition AIADMK and PMK. The BJP, however, walked out in protest, accusing the ruling DMK of engaging in divisive politics. The bill aims to streamline the Waqf Board's work and ensure efficient management of Waqf properties but has been criticized for potentially encroaching on religious freedom and autonomy. The Tamil Nadu government claims that the amendment would lead to government control over the Waqf Board and its properties, impacting its autonomy and potentially allowing for government acquisition of Muslim-owned lands.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Centre has opposed the imposition of fixed timelines on governors and the President for decisions on bills passed by state legislatures, arguing that such constraints were intentionally omitted by the Constitution's framers.
In Mylapore in Chennai, an entire street is lined up with Kolu dolls; it's a wonderful sight to see the variety of dolls on display, recounts Sudha Chandrasekar.
With the Tamil Nadu electorate having given him an unprecedented mandate that had eluded his father the late M Karunanidhi, Stalin has to prove his worth, ensuring at the same time that the Dravidian drag on the AIADMK's side does not open up space for the BJP to make inroads in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The patient had a medical history of prolonged illness with "uncontrolled diabetes".
Over 10.56 lakh voters have been deleted from Assam's electoral rolls following a Special Revision, ahead of upcoming assembly elections. The revision included house-to-house verification and aims to create an error-free electoral roll.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Tamil Nadu's youth bulge will soon be 70 per cent of the population, many of them smartphone-toting millennials looking for gains more tangible than what screen gods can give,' says Sunil Sethi.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
A keen contest is on the cards for the sixth seat in the biennial election.
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