AIADMK leaders and supporters pay homage to J Jayalithaa on her 5th death anniversary.
Neither the ruling DMK nor the fractured AIADMK Opposition anticipated that an assembly by-election would put them both to test, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Setting the cat among the pigeons, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi hinted that he was retiring to 'work among the oppressed people' from 2010. The Tamil Nadu Assembly elections are due in 2011.
Film director and leader of Latchiya Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party Vijaya T Rajendhar on Tuesday resigned from the vice-chairmanship of the Tamil Nadu Small Savings Advisory Committee in order to "mobilise support for Ealam Tamils on the Sri Lankan issue."
The BJP seems wanting to return to a 'Tamil Hindutva' agenda for elections in Tamil Nadu, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the Thalaiva's entry on Tamil Nadu's political screen and wonders if he can duplicate his cinematic feats at the ballot box next April..
The Commission, under Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi, would recommend an amendment to the Constitution to add the "new chapter or part" on simultaneous elections, the sources said.
A host of political leaders and the cream of Tamil film world were among those who turned up for the wedding reception of Union Minister M K Alagiri's son Durai Dayanidhi on Wednesday at the sprawling Tamukkam grounds in Madurai, which was converted into an excellently decorated wedding hall.
Celebrities and politicians made a beeline for polling stations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as both the states go to the polls on Monday.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja's brother has been arrested on charges of 'bribing' voters in Perumbalur district in the run up to the April 13 Tamil Nadu assembly polls, police said on Monday.
Jaya predicted a snap poll for the Lok Sabha. She, however, did not indicate early elections to the state Assembly, scheduled to go to polls in May 2006.
Parliament's approval of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, a contentious piece of legislation aimed at reforming Waqf bodies, has sparked strong reactions from the opposition, who allege that the bill was "bulldozed" through Parliament. The bill, considered the government's most consequential legislation in its third term, was passed with comfortable majorities in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha despite opposition claims of a lack of consultation and an intrusion into religious affairs. Other notable bills approved during the session included the Finance Bill, Appropriation Bill, Immigration and Foreigners Bill, and Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill. The session, which saw high productivity, also witnessed debates on issues such as economic distress, delimitation, and the three-language policy. While the government touted its achievements, the opposition criticized the government's approach and vowed to challenge the Waqf bill in court.
Sowmiya Anbumani is the president of Pasumai Thayagam, an NGO involved in conservation of nature.
A G Perarivalan alias Arivu is now a free man following a legal battle, and that long fight provides scope for throwback moments of Tamil sentiment that propelled the struggle which was backed by most political parties and successive governments in Tamil Nadu.
The party that shall head the alliance would be made known only during the elections and polls were not round the corner now, Chief Minister Palaniswami said when asked if the BJP or AIADMK would steward the combine in Tamil Nadu to fight the polls next year.
The results of the assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal are hours away and Dominic Xavier wonders if a fresh government battleplan to fight the COVID-19 pandemic will only materialise after the electoral outcome is known.
The counting of votes in all these states and the UT will take place on May 2.
Undeterred by the controversy surrounding its seat sharing talks with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, the Congress has begun moves for an 'honourable alliance' with the Trinamool Congress in poll-bound West Bengal.
DMDK founder-president Vijayakant along with party presidium chairman Panruti Ramachandran and Youth wing secretary Sudheesh called on Jayalalithaa at her Poes Garden residence in Chennai on Friday night to cement the pact under which the party had been allotted 41 seats, a joint statement released to the media said.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
Pattali Makkal Katchi founder Dr S Ramadoss attributed the failure of the party in the April 13 Tamil Nadu assembly elections to the 'arrogance and lethargy' of the party workers.
Facing the opposition benches, it is the 11th portrait to adorn the House.
The deadlock over seat sharing between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Congress for the Tamil Nadu polls came to an end on Tuesday.
"Congratulations to Mamata Didi for @AITCofficial's win in West Bengal. The Centre will continue to extend all possible support to the West Bengal Government to fulfil people's aspirations and also to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic," he tweeted.
Weeks ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, V K Sasikala, expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and close aide of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, on Wednesday announced that "she will stay away from politics," but would pray for the "golden rule" of the late party supremo.
Union Fertilizer Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam strongman MK Alagiri is keen to return to Tamil Nadu politics. He may do so by relinquishing his Union minister position by mid December to campaign for DMK in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu for the assembly elections in 2011.
The BJP top leader's Tamil pitch assumes significance Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had some days back alleged that the saffron party had no respect for Tamil language and culture.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the party would deliberate on its failures and do course correction after internal deliberations.
A plea challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct assembly elections over eight phases in West Bengal was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday.
There will be 2,364 counting halls as compared to 1,002 halls in 2016 in 822 assemble constituencies, a more than 200 percent increase, in view of the COVID guidelines, according to the Election Commission which had drawn flak from the courts over the conduct of polls during the pandemic.
Nineteen political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, received over Rs 1,100 crore during assembly polls in five states and Union territories in 2021 and spent over Rs 500 crore, a big chunk of which went towards advertisements and travel expenses for star campaigners, a study said on Friday.
Shobha Warrier analyses why Srirangam, with its large chunk of Vaishnavite Brahmin population, makes perfect sense for All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalitha decision to contest an election from there.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Congress were locked in a battle of attrition, a day after the regional party announced pulling out its ministers from the United Progressive Alliance government with neither party making any moves to break the deadlock in the aftermath of failure of seat-sharing talks for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
The biggest significance of Friday night's statement from Chief Minister Karunanidhi is that this is the first time in many months that the DMK has spoken openly about the alliance and negotiations in public.
The Centre told the Supreme Court that governors are not indefinitely sitting on bills passed by state legislatures, and that barring a few exceptions, most have acted in a way which the apex court would have perhaps desired. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that a Governor is "not a rubber stamp" and has a duty to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.
This article traces the history of the DMK's fight for state autonomy, beginning with C.N. Annadurai's advocacy in the 1960s and culminating in M. Karunanidhi's resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1974. The article highlights the key figures involved, the arguments presented, and the impact of the Rajamannar Committee Report.
His investigations have not revealed anything alarming so far, it said. The 70-year old actor is scheduled for a further set of investigations on Saturday, reports of which would be available by the evening, it said.
Where do Vijay and his TVK expect to get their votes from? Vijay has a huge fan following among women, but will they automatically become his voters like they had done for MGR's AIADMK, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The minister said the Centre will soon keep its stand clear in front of SC.
