By almost unilaterally announcing her party's support for the candidature of former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma for the President's post, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary J Jayalalithaa has queered the pitch and made it that much more difficult the search for a common opposition candidate.
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.
In a major setback to former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the Supreme Court on Friday declined to stay the trial against her in a 14-year-old disproportionate assets case being heard in Karnataka. A bench headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy, however, directed the trial court to fix a time-frame for cross examination of the 42 witnesses after giving sufficient opportunity to Jayalalithaa. The apex court passed the order by dismissing the Special Leave Petition.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and three others on appeals filed against Karnataka high court order acquitting them in a disproportionate assets case.
Former captain Arjuna Ranatunga slammed his cricket Board and government's decision to allow Lankan players to participate in the IPL, terming it an endorsement of human rights abuse charges against Sri Lanka.
In a shake-up in her cabinet, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday sacked three ministers and inducted an equal number, all of them first-time MLAs.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with spearheading investor-friendly initiatives, saying it will "enthuse" businesses planning to invest in states.
With Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran coming under the Central Bureau of Investigation's scanner in the 2G scam, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday demanded that he should be dropped from the Union Cabinet immediately.
Taking a potshot at arch rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said while he had demanded that India should not take part in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, he kept mum on Lankan cricketers playing in an IPL team owned by his family.
The Centre on Thursday rejected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's charge that non-Congress ruled states were discriminated against at the National Development Council meet and said that no leader should make political capital at such events.
The governor enquired "about the general administration of the affairs of the government," a Raj Bhavan release said.
Barely a month after All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa talked about a national role for her party in the Lok Sabha polls due in 2014, Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani on Saturday described her as a "natural ally," fuelling speculation that both parties could come together ahead of the polls. "We see in Jayalalithaa a natural ally," Advani said at the 42nd anniversary celebrations of Tamil weekly 'Thuglaq'.
Away from the courtroom and legal circles, Nariman was a familiar figure for residents of Hauz Khas who would see him walk regularly, even in the cold winter months of December and January.
Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran sought to play down party's decision.
Remembering Jayalalithaa - The Actor
People are anxious to know about the health condition of the chief minister as some information is already in public domain, a division bench orally observed when a public interest litigation filed by social activist K R 'Traffic' Ramaswamy came up for hearing.
A financially destructive populist culture of giving voters freebies in TN has left the state with massive bills.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday resumed her deposition before a special court in Bengaluru in the disproportionate assets case, appearing before it for the fourth time since last month.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday reached out to Jayalalithaa-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to seek its support on the issue of foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.
India on Monday strongly condemned the "derogatory" article against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa appearing in the Sri Lankan defence ministry website, as the controversy rocked Parliament with an agitated All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam demanding a resolution to denounce it.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday turned 68, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting the leader on her birthday.
The Supreme Court quashed on Wednesday a criminal proceeding against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, initiated for filing four nomination papers in the 2001 Assembly polls, and asked the Madras high court to re-examine its order to lodge the case against her.
Is the unusually and unbearably scorching Sun and the general laxity, bordering on laziness, among voters, responsible, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Complaining about "woefully inadequate," allotment of the Haj quota to the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to enhance the number.
The AIADMK supremo retained 13 of her ministers, who were in the previous cabinet, besides inducting 17 new faces including four women.
erala and Tamil Nadu will be going to polls on May 16 and ahead of the assembly elections, Rediff Labs analyses who's been making the most buzz
If the idea was to garner AIADMK votes with or without the three faction leaders after the party broke ties with the NDA, it may not work after all, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Singh, who is in China, said on Twitter that he had spoken to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and assured of all possible help.
Stealing a march over other political parties, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday announced candidates for 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state and Puducherry.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa won the R K Nagar by-polls by over 1.5 lakh votes on Tuesday. According to reports, Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah congratulated her on the victory.
The brother of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's former aide Sasikala's was arrested on Friday in Tiruvarur district for allegedly demolishing a woman's house in Rishiyur village.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa was on Saturday sworn in for the fifth time as chief minister of Tamil Nadu amid celebrations by party cadres and supporters all over the state.
Holding that it was All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa, who had paid for the arrangements for the lavish marriage of her now estranged foster son VN Sudhakaran, the special court in the disproportionate assets case against her pegged the expenses incurred by her at Rs 3 crore.
Facing flak over the grim power situation in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday assured that the scenario would improve from June with the completion of various projects and a total capacity addition of 1950 mw. "Power generation is being given high priority and I am giving special focus to this," she said at an election rally in support of party candidate S Muthuselvi for the March 18 by-poll to Sankarankoil assembly constituency.
'Because I am the first official transgender candidate of a political party and fighting against Jayalalithaa, I got a lot of publicity.' 'Till now, nobody knew me. Now, the entire Tamil Nadu knows me.' 'The transgender community here wanted me to withdraw my candidature, saying Jayalalithaa had provided them with houses.' 'They feel Jayalalithaa would be angry with all transgender people because I am standing against her.'
The BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the state's conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politics, by taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption.
Will Vijay will go the most successful MGR/Jayalalithaa way, or that of Vijayakanth, Seeman or Kamalahaasan, or will he end up as another Rajinikanth who cries wolf at the last minute and quits the scene even before it all had really begun, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Unpredictable polling in Tamil Nadu, and criminal cases stacked against Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will be two key factors to be taken into consideration when the government is formed at the Centre, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Expressing solidarity with jailed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa, a former actor, members of the Tamil cinema industry on Tuesday embarked on a day-long 'silent fast" in Chennai on Tuesday.