Dubbing as "unfortunate" the Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi's invite to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his May 26 swearing-in, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today said the "ill-advised" move could have been avoided as it amounted to "rubbing salt into the wounds of the already deeply injured Tamil psyche."
Both houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon within minutes of assembling on Tuesday following uproarious scenes over the issues of plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra.
The BJP and its allies now rule over 70 per cent of the country's population, marking an unprecedented saffron footprint.
Having altered the political landscape of Tamil Nadu by firming up a pre-poll alliance with five parties of the state for the first time, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday welcomed the tacit support of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi's son M K Alagiri, saying it will help in formation of NDA government at the Centre.
The RSS wants three nominees inducted: Tejaswi Surya, the young BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a Rajya Sabha member, and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Tamil Nadu, the land of regional parties where the two Dravidian outfits have ruled the roost for long, is witnessing a few fledgling parties testing their electoral luck for the first time in the April 24 Lok Sabha elections, including Aam Aadmi Party and Indiya Jananayaka Katchi.
President Maithripala Sirisena's new Cabinet was also sworn in and Rajapaksa was named the new minister of finance and economic affairs.
'Except for the Akali Dal and Shiv Sena, the BJP has not found any permanent friends.' 'This is because most parties are genuinely concerned about what Hindutva politics does to Indian society,' argues Aakar Patel.
BJP strategists need to remember even at this late hour that 'negativism' sells when you are in the Opposition as the Indian voter has mostly voted anti-incumbency, and not when you are in power. You still needed to highlight your achievements and promises, and let the voter draw his conclusions, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
With the presidential elections over, the time has come for Prime Minister Modi to show Tamil Nadu that the state's interests are safe under him, says R Rajagopalan.
V P Duraisamy's exit will in no way upset the poll scene in western Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Chief ministers of non-Congress states on Monday accused the Centre of not consulting states on key security issues wherein the state's powers are "abrogated" while United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress opposed National Centre for Counter Terrorism as it "upsets" the federal structure.
The reshuffle had politics at its heart, so the biggest complement of new ministers, both Cabinet rank and below, came from UP, which will see assembly elections in a few months.
The deadlock over finalising alliances has had a deleterious effect on the candidates of every party. The delay in alliance conclusion has also sent out confusing signals to the grass-roots who are unsure who will be their party candidate, or which party within an alliance will be allotted a particular constituency, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
While Rahul Gandhi led Congress has a pan Indian presence, Naidu described regional leaders, including himself, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Stalin and Deve Gowda as strong leaders in their respective states, who are coming together against the BJP.
With India under pressure from Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu to support a United States-sponsored resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Commission against Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes, United Progressive Alliance's key constituent Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Saturday announced the convening of its high-level committee on March 20 to discuss the issue. Party chief M Karunanidhi will chair the meeting on Tuesday morning at its headquarters in Chennai.
Expressing gratitude to Bharatiya Janata Party for supporting his Presidential bid, P A Sangma on Thursday appealed to National Democratic Alliance allies Janata Dal-United and Shiv Sena, which are opposed to his candidature, as well as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to back him in the July 19 poll.
RJD president Lalu Prasad will not attend the celebrations due to ill health.
The presidential election is due in July and the poll to the post of the vice president is scheduled for August.
The DMK combine has won 37 of the 38 LS constituencies in Tamil Nadu, and bagged 13 of the 22 assembly bypolls. What swept away the AIADMK-BJP alliance in the southern state was not dravidian ideology but job loss and graft bias, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The PM name is to be decided only after the Lok Sabha results, a top opposition leader said.
'Sharad Yadav was deeply hurt by Nitish Kumar's decision, taken without consulting the senior party leaders at a time when opposition unity was to be strengthened against the BJP. He felt ignored and is likely to take a final stand soon.'
According to the food ministry, about 142 lakh migrants will benefit in Uttar Pradesh and in Bihar (86.45 lakh), Maharasthra (70 lakh), West Bengal (60.1 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (54.64 lakh), Rajasthan (44.66 lakh), Karnataka (40.19 lakh), Gujarat (38.25 lakh), Tamil Nadu (35.73 lakh), Jharkhand (26.37 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (26.82 lakh) and Assam (25.15 lakh).
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday attacked the United Progressive Alliance government for "reducing states to glorified municipal corporations" by turning a deaf ear to their reasonable demands and described central proposals like the Communal Violence bill as "fascist".
With Vijayakanth rebuffing both the DMK and the BJP Tamil Nadu will witness a six-cornered fight, which can only benefit Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, says R Ramasubramanian.
Seeking a "decisive shift" in the Centre's stance vis-a-vis Sri Lanka on the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure the release of 33 fishermen, arrested by the island nation's navy, and ensure a lasting solution to the issue.
Wary of how its alliance with the BJP in the past had cost it votes, the party is determined to steer clear of any harm by association, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam is all set to withdraw its five Union ministers from the United Progressive Alliance-2 by the weekend to express solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. The step is expected to be taken to put UPA-2 on notice if India voted in favour of Sri Lanka in Geneva where the United Nations Human Rights Council is currently in session.
'Let me stick my neck out and say that Tamil Nadu will keep alive its reputation for landslide election verdicts, with the DMK front winning at least 30 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats going to the polls in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Sonia Gandhi hit out at the BJP for being determined to destroy constitutional values.
While the start may have been rocky, with renewed syllabus and coaching, students and teachers are largely in favour of the exam.
Tamil nadu Chief Minister and All India Dravida Munetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa on Monday sacked three ministers and six district heads in the backdrop of her party's defeat in three Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The ruling All India Anna DMK bagged 37 out of the 39 seats in the state, with the Bharatiya Janata Party winning one seat and its alliance partner the Pattali Makkal Katchi winning one.
What will a split in the AIADMK mean for Tamil Nadu?
Surjewala made the case for state-specific alliances while arguing for a larger coalition with like-minded parties in 'national interest'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress and its erstwhile government in Puducherry, saying the V Narayanasamy led dispensation had 'different priorities' than public welfare and flayed party leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent 'north-south' remarks.
The TMC expects to emerge victorious by way of a majority of minority votes and a minority of majority votes, notes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
Known as an astute strategist whose non-political interests range from playing chess and watching cricket to stage performances and listening to classical music, 54-year-old Shah is often hailed as the BJP's most successful president for crafting its way to power states after states.
Rajini's call may now force other political parties, including the DMK and the Congress, who are in alliance talks already, to come up with water proposals of their own in their poll manifesto. In a way, this may be a 'tactical victory' for Rajinikanth, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
With Rahul showing a significant lead over Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi in opinion polls across southern India but lagging in the north, the Congress believes his contesting from the south will help galvanise cadres.
