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.
The meeting of the newly-elected MLAs to elect the legislature party leader, the second within three days, reportedly saw exchanges on who should lead the party in the House with one section pitching for Palaniswami and the other for coordinator O Panneerselvam.
Personnel of NDRF, Fire, Forest and police departments have expanded their search operations to the downstream of a river in their efforts to trace 19 more people who were still missing in the August 7 tragedy near Rajamala.
Words and actions like those of R N Ravi and a vocal section of the state BJP have only added to Tamil fears and suspicions, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Modi praised Tamil Nadu as a special place and lauded the Tamil language as eternal and its culture as global.
He appealed to Kerala to extend cooperation to store full water in the Mullaiperiyar dam.
Among the long queues of voters, there were some famous faces too who exercised their franchise.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M K Stalin will try his luck once again from Kolathur constituency in Chennai in the April 6 Tamil Nadu assembly elections while his son Udhayanidhi will make his electoral debut by contesting from the Chepauk-Triplicane segment in the metropolis.
Ending its decade long stint in the opposition, even relegated to the third spot in the House in 2011, the M K Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam made a spirited comeback to the ruling saddle to unseat its rival the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
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.
In the wake of 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India so far, the Union health ministry has made functional 52 laboratories for testing samples while 57 labs have been designated for helping in sample collection for Covid-19 to enhance capacity for diagnosis and detection of the disease. "Following the increase in load of screening samples from suspected cases with symptoms and travel history to the affected countries, the department of health research/ICMR has commissioned 52 laboratories for COVID-19 testing in India," an official said.
About 110 tonnes had been loaded additionally in the 55 goods wagons.
After a gap of 10 years, the DMK snatched the reins of power from arch rival AIADMK, with its president M K Stalin leading the party to a stellar performance and in the process, helming the state as chief minister for the first time.
Surplus rain water gushed out of reservoirs while several roads here resembled swollen rivers and four persons were killed in rain related incidents in Tamil Nadu and over 60 houses suffered damage, authorities here said on Monday.
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has warned about the possibilities of landslides in the hilly areas already hit by extremely heavy rainfall in the past few days and directed people living in the region and government authorities to be vigilant.
She dubbed the I-T raids as "anti-democratic, deliberately planned and tested".
Prohibitory orders are in force due to tense situation in the wake of the row between Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the 116-year-old dam, which has escalated in recent days. Kerala wants demolition of the dam citing safety concerns while Tamil Nadu is opposed to it.
Tension gripped Lower Camp area on Tamil Nadu's border with Kerala on Saturday as over 4,000 villagers of the district took out a march protesting against alleged attacks on Tamils in Kumily in the neighbouring state in the wake of the escalation of the row over Mullaperiyar dam.
With BJP workers staging agitations across the state demanding that Thol Thirumavalavan apologise for his remark allegedly denigrating women, the VCK cadres countered it by flash protests and they allegedly attacked saffron party office-bearers at Madurai.
EPS' real test will commence with a decision whether or not to patch up with OPS and on what terms -- and then, to decide whether or not to have the BJP for an electoral ally, come 2024, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
A Ganesh Nadar recalls what it was like to watch an RK movie in the theatre in the 1970s.
There is nothing to suggest that the DMK stands to gain from the AIADMK split nor is there anything indicative of an extraordinary advantage for the BJP, independently or in the company of the AIADMK, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Suriya Prabha trains students from government schools in rural Tamil Nadu to code and use Artificial Intelligence to solve problems.
The Kannada remake of the Tamil movie, Sandai Kozhi lacks spice.
What matters here is whether the candidate is from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam headed by J Jayalalithaa or if he is contesting on the late matinee idol MG Ramachandran's symbol 'two leaves', which still attracts people in southern Tamil Nadu like a magnet.
Hundreds of people wait in the scorching sun for over an hour at a street in Andipetti in Theni district of Tamil Nadu.
Rathika Ramaswamy's love affair with wildlife photography began in 2003, when she took pictures of birds at the Bharatpur bird sanctuary. That love affair -- captured in her lens -- bloomed! And how!
The decision to sack Raja, a former panchayat body chief hailing from Theni district, was announced by Panneerselvam and Joint Coordinator K Palaniswami.
In what appears to be a patch up bid after going hammer and tongs against his younger brother, expelled Dravida Munetra Kazhagam leader M K Alagiri on Wednesday claimed differences with M K Stalin were based on policy and principles and nobody can 'create a rift in our family relationship.'
The AIADMK chief filed her nomination papers for June 27 bypoll to the Radhakrishnan Nagar assembly constituency.
Modi assured to extend all required assistance to the state to face the situation, the Chief Minister's office said.
Normalcy was returning to Tamil Nadu on Sunday, a day after sporadic violence erupted in several parts of the state in the wake of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's conviction in the disproportionate assets case.
The cash was neatly packed in 94 packets and envelops on which the ward number, number of voters and the amount of Rs 300 per voter was written.
Yet another inter-state dispute involving Tamil Nadu and its neighbouring states appear to be brewing with local body officials and erstwhile zamindars of three villages in Theni district accusing Kerala of 'encroaching' on a site, believed to have been visited by Lord Rama, and converting it into a tourist spot.
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.
However, a bright morning brought relief to the residents of the rain-drenched city, even as the weather office has forecast rains for November 21.
Seven persons accused of being involved in smuggling activities for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels and the Maoist movement have been detained under the National Security Act (NSA). While three of them were involved in smuggling activities for the LTTE, the others were part of the Maoist movement, a release said.
The investigation of three Tamil extremists, arrested on Monday in neighbouring Theni district, has revaled the presence of a Maoist group in Tamil Nadu with links to Naxals in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Reader Lalit Kumar Dubey sent us this picture from Denmark.
With the north-east monsoon becoming vigorous over Tamil Nadu, 15 persons, including four children, were killed in rain-related incidents across the state during the last 24 hours.
