If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Even as the Union Cabinet on Thursday took up the note on Telangana state for discussion, the Seemandhra leaders fighting to keep the state united, met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to discuss their counter strategy.
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met President Pranab Mukherjee and leaders of political parties in an attempt to find an amicable solution to the problem of division in New Delhi Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana state.
Faced with fresh agitation on the issue of Telangana and continued uncertainties over the food security bill, the Congress top brass including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi deliberated on the way ahead.
The just-concluded meeting of the Group of Ministers has remained inconclusive and the same team would meet again on Wednesday. The contentious issue was the creation of a Rayal-Telangana and the GoM sought to know if this could be proposed despite it not being part of the Cabinet note.
The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday decided that Kunbi caste certificates will be issued to those Marathas hailing from the Marathwada region who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said.
Modi said India has taken an important step forward in protecting its youth population against the disease.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
A high-level committee on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
The Congress's strategy is to get the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha and then try its luck in the Lok Sabha, where it is unsure of the Bharatiya Janata party's support for it. This, say sources, is the GoM's face-saver plan, as the Rajya Sabha's okay will keep the Bill alive for the 16th Lok Sabha.
The Group of Ministers on Telangana is set to discuss the draft bill for the creation of Telangana on Saturday.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees.
There is an impression within the Tamil Nadu BJP -- although no one is airing it -- that over-exposure for Narendra Modi over the past months may work against party candidates, as they have triggered a near-continuous social media debate on his achievements and failures, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The government rejected the contention on Friday that it has developed any second thoughts on the issue of Telangana, saying that the process with regard to its creation is underway and won't be affected by assembly elections in five states.
During the all-party meeting on December 7, there had been a consensus over Telangana. On that basis, on December 9, the Centre had in principle decided to create a new state. However, today, the situation in Andhra Pradesh has altered. The parties involved have a difference in opinion. There is a need for more consultations for a consensus to emerge on the issue, Chidambaram said.
A crucial meeting of the Congress Core Group on Friday will discuss the Telangana issue with "both options open" as a decision "cannot be postponed anymore", said senior party leader Digvijay Singh.
Maharashtra is the BRS' first target.
Other posters, which came up on public walls at different places in the city featured leaders who joined BJP from others parties and BRS MLC K Kavitha on the other hand.
The Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, has completed the process of discussions with various stake holders and will submit its report to the Union cabinet as early as possible to pave way for tabling Telangana Bill in the winter session of Parliament.
Riding on e-commerce wave is the youngest state, which faces competition from neighbours.
Local Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramana Murthy maintained that since the lockdown was in force and the inter-state borders have been sealed, no vehicle or person could be allowed into the state.
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
Discussions to evolve a consensus on separate Telangana state is on and the Congress high command will take a final decision on it but it will take time, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Tuesday.
A top Home Ministry official said no note has been prepared yet to be placed before tomorrow's scheduled meeting of the Cabinet to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The deteriorating law and order situation in Hyderabad has prompted a worried Union government to consider temporarily bringing the city under its control.
President Pranab Mukherjee, a stickler of rules, will give the Andhra assembly six weeks (up to January 23) to respond to the draft bill on Telangana
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said they will pose three questions a day to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.
In order to stall the Telangana bill and urge the government to withdraw its decision, the YSR Congress of Jagan Mohan Reddy and Seemandhra government employees will protest in different parts of the city
The bill to create a separate Telangana does not require a constitutional amendment and the new state can be carved out by a simple majority in Parliament.
Responding to the notice, Kavitha said that she has informed the authorities that they can meet her at her Hyderabad residence.
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod to the Telangana Bill, which is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter K Kavitha in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, officials said on Wednesday.
Addressing a huge rally in Maharashtra's Nagpur on the occasion of the Congress' 139th foundation day, he said unemployment in the country has reached its highest point in the last 40 years.
The Centre on Thursday evening took the first significant step towards creation of a separate Telangana state from out of Andhra Pradesh and decided that Hyderabad will be the joint capital of the two states for 10 years.
Amid the row over bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, a Union minister from Seemandhra has met senior Telangana Congress leader and his colleague at the Centre Jaipal Reddy seeking his support for making Hyderabad a Union Territory.
The Group of Ministers on Telangana will meet in the first week of February to decide on the Centre's next course of action after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy sought extension of the deadline for discussing and returning the statehood Bill.
The government on Thursday said it will go ahead with its decision to create Telangana despite protests in the Seemandhra region, but remained non-committal on imposition of the President's rule in Andhra Pradesh.
Notwithstanding Andhra Pradesh assembly's rejection of Telangana bill, a Group of Ministers on Tuesday cleared the draft legislation to be placed before the Union Cabinet on Thursday to pave the way for its tabling in Parliament.
On the basis of many conversations with stakeholders on the Telangana issue, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt presents an FAQ to help understand the politics of posturing and realpolitik on the ground to win seats. The questions are many and the answers are not straight
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