V K Sasikala, a close aide of the late J Jayalalithaa, has announced the launch of a new political party in Tamil Nadu, potentially leading to a four-way contest in the upcoming state Assembly elections.
The DMDK officially joined the DMK-led alliance ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections, marking a significant political development in the state.
'He was able to push the AIADMK to the background.'
In a shake-up in her cabinet, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday sacked three ministers and inducted an equal number, all of them first-time MLAs.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with spearheading investor-friendly initiatives, saying it will "enthuse" businesses planning to invest in states.
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.
It appears that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being very responsive to Jayalalithaa's demands, be it on the secure release of the abducted Tamil Nadu priest to the fishermen's issue with Sri Lanka, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What is worrying other parties is those 10-11 year olds who come for his meetings will cross 18 in the next election. And they will vote for him, and then his vote bank will double.' 'In that case, he will be a very serious player! This is the real scare for other political parties.'
'The EPS camp feels assertiveness will help the AIADMK keep the BJP's seat-share ambitions to the minimum,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Days after securing a thumping victory in the R K Nagar by-poll in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa took oath on Saturday as member of the Legislative Assembly.
State Governor Surjit Singh Barnala administered oath of secrecy to Jayalalithaa at the Madras University's centenary auditorium in Chennai.
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.
After suffering successive defeats in elections since 2004, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa has made a spectacular comeback in Tamil Nadu by shedding her rigid attitude and cobbling up a formidable alliance with once-not-so friendly actor Vijayakant and the Left parties.
According to the PM, CMC means "Corruption, Mafia, Crime."
Jaya has been hospitalised since September 22, is interacting and progressing gradually.
The BJP often forgets that in Dravidian Tamil Nadu, the voter does not mix religion, which is personal, and politics that is in the public sphere, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa followers are waiting with bated breath as the Supreme Court will hear the bail petition of the former Tamil Nadu chief minister, who has been in a Bangalore jail for almost two weeks after she was convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to four years in jail.
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday claimed that Governor R N Ravi 'insulted' the gubernatorial position he holds, by not reading out the speech at the commencement of the assembly session.
Display of Jayalalithaa's portrait in the Republic Day tableaux in Chennai has stirred up a row
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.
'Why are IPKF martyrs not being officially recognised and appropriately honoured? And is the government really changing its mind on this now?', asks Aditi Phadnis.
Stealing a march over other political parties, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday announced candidates for 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state and Puducherry.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
If the people of Tamil Nadu stop deifying their leaders and start evaluating them more objectively, the political masters too may change their wayward behaviour, argues Sudhir Bisht.
The BJP state unit hailed Vasan and said his advice will be used in the coming days to guide the alliance.
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.
''Women are coming into public spaces in larger numbers than ever before. They are educated, capable, opinionated, and determined.' 'But the more women push for access to public space, the harder they are pushed back -- through attacks like this, through discrimination, through the glass ceiling, through the deliberate denial of recognition.'
The recent 'revelation' by TN fishers freed by Sri Lanka after they had paid up Lankan rupees 50,000 each in fines, that their hair was tonsured in prison and they were forced to remove their garments other than the underpants, and were also made to clean toilets, as if with vengeance, has touched a raw nerve this time, just as another issue or issues had done it ahead of the Jallikattu protests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress' chances of survival in the state do not look promising, says Aditi Phadnis
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.
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.
Karuppasamy is the second mnister in the Jayalalithaa-led cabinet to die while in office. Another minister Mariam Pichai was killed in a road accident soon after the April 13 polls, even before he could take oath as a Member of the Tamil Nadu assembly.
R Rajagopalan predicts that Tamil Nadu won't have single party rule for the first time in its history.
'Kamal Haasan always appeared to be quick to strike, but afraid to wound.' 'What he is offering the people of Tamil Nadu is not clear, but whatever it is, it will be a fresh element in the state's politics,' says Aditi Phadnis.
The AIADMK is convinced that the BJP will remain an electoral burden for a long time to come, beginning the Lok Sabha polls next year, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
Drawing the Centre's attention to the acute power shortage in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday asked it to reallocate to her state over 1,700 MW proposed to be surrendered by the Delhi government.
Three way split of AIADMK has slowed decision-making, prompting industry to look outside the state, says T E Narasimhan.
In a blow to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa, the Karnataka high court on Tuesday rejected her bail plea in the disproportionate assets case, saying there was no ground to grant her the relief.
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