All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa is disqualified from contesting elections for ten years, the Tamil Nadu government has said in a gazette notification.
Announcing his decision on Twitter, Rajinikanth said, "In the ensuing state assembly elections, with the tremendous support of the people, Tamil Nadu will have an honest, upright, transparent, corruption-free, secular spiritual political setup." "A marvel, miracle, it will happen," he wrote in Tamil. "We will change, we will change everything. If not now, then never."
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Mamata Banerjee fended off a spirited challenge by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal with a landslide victory for her Trinamool Congress on Sunday for a third consecutive term and the saffron party and the Left Democratic Front were poised to form government again in Assam and Kerala respectively while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam stormed back to power in Tamil Nadu after a gap of 10 years.
A maximum of 92,000 personnel of CAPFs are likely to be deployed in politically volatile West Bengal, where elections will be held in seven phases, followed by 63,500 personnel in militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir, where polling will be held in five phases.
Assuming office for the sixth time as chief minister, Jayalalithaa began a new chapter in her chequered political career.
The Tamil film industry won't forget Vijayakanth's large-heartedness, how he took care of fellow industry persons, male or female, rich or poor, young or old...recalls N Sathiya Moorthy. How he sent money quietly for the family of a stunt artiste to meet his funeral expenses, how he always ensured that all female co-stars, including junior artistes, had secure accommodation on outdoor shoots, and how he would always the first to rush help if anyone from the fraternity was in distress.
Former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's subsequent elevation set a new benchmark for the actions of those who occupy Raj Bhavans, observes Aditi Phadnis.
The proportion of postal votes polled in the general elections has gradually risen since 2009.
The Tamil Nadu government will promulgate an ordinance providing for reservation for minorities in Tamil Nadu.
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
In his first poll rally for the April 6 assembly polls, Modi rooted for the Tamil language, culture and invoked the welfare legacies of M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, late chief ministers and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam icons.
The Aam Aadmi Party has decided to launch a massive membership drive in the southern states to build on the momentum of its stupendous victory in the Punjab assembly polls.
Here is the glimpse of the political turn of events in the state
is puzzled by the politics of the COVID-19 vaccine. Will only Indians in states going to the polls get a vaccine shot? What happens to Indians in non-election bound states? When will they be protected from the pandemic?
By itself the event may not amount to much, but what it indicates is a changing, assertive, public doesn't want to be taken for a ride anymore.
With the Election Commission (EC) facing flak from some quarters for announcing eight-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal, officials on Friday said the polling had to be spread out due to festivals, the movement of security forces and an increased number of polling stations keeping in mind the Covid protocols.
'Jayalalithaa could not do what MGR did, and Sasikala will not be able to do what Jayalalithaa did.'
"From the days of print media and radio, dissemination of news has reached the era of television, with people switching on television sets the moment they wake up to know what is happening in the world," he said after inaugurating Raj News, a 24-hour Tamil news channel from Raj Network Limited.
'We have done nothing wrong and I don't understand why they are sending a notice'
"If a situation arises wherein me and Kamal have to join hands for the welfare of people of Tamil Nadu, we will surely come together," Rajinikanth said.
The BJP game-plan: Take the top slot, or a close second, either for the 'Lotus' or the larger NDA, if it can and push the AIADMK to the third place, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana agreed to hear next week the EC's plea after senior advocate Vikas Singh submitted a large number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail machines (VVPATs) are still being preserved and need to be released.
An interesting multi-cornered contest is on the cards for the urban local body elections in Tamil Nadu scheduled for February 19 with opposition parties, which were with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam till a few days ago, set to take on the ruling DMK banking on their respective party's own strength.
Fighting heavy odds, J Jayalalithaa proved her detractors wrong again with her grit and determination as she steered the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to power for a second consecutive term, bucking the tradition since 1989 when no party has retained power in Tamil Nadu.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
The Srirangam assembly seat, a traditional stronghold of the AIADMK that has elected the party nominees six times since 1977, is witnessing an interesting contest between Jayalalithaa, a two-time chief minister, and a political novice N Anand, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam nominee.
In his latest tweet, Gandhi said, "China is expanding its occupation into Indian territory. Mr 56" hasn't said the word 'China' for months. Maybe he can start by saying the word 'China'."
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa made a spectacular comeback in Tamil Nadu on Friday with her victory is the 2011 assembly elections, crushing the corruption-hit DMK. AIADMK-led alliance was on the victory lap in 196 of the state's 234 constituencies and stunned DMK and its allies were set to get only 36 seats. Jayalalithaa and her supporters had every reason to celebrate.
Tagging a tweet on the organisational changes by the party in Tamil Nadu, Karti Chidambaram tweeted, "These jumbo committees serve no purpose. 32 VP, 57 GS, 104 Secretaries. None will have any authority which means no accountability."
Attacking the Tamil Nadu chief minister over a host of issues, including unemployment, he alleged that her rule was marked by corruption and that industries had migrated to other states
Modi's BJP has promised more revdis or freebies for these assembly elections than ever before, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In the last five years, 480 candidates with declared cases related to hate speech have contested elections to state assemblies, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the ADR said.
Changes have been made in the original schedule of the 2011 IPL-4 because of the assembly elections in the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.
"I have not lost my confidence (that DMDK would join the DMK-led front)," said Karunanidhi.
The DMK and its allies submitted a list of pending assembly bills with the Raj Bhavan.
Voting was underway on Friday in 102 Lok Sabha seats spread across 21 states and Union territories in the first of the seven phases of the world's largest electoral exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging voters to exercise their franchise in record numbers.
Azad, who is a prominent member of the group of 23 leaders who had demanded organisational overhaul in the Congress, said that for the next two months the party is the top priority.
'They are all the time asking people not to do this, not to do that.' 'Their version of society and Hinduism is very warped; not an inclusive one.'
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
