Meet the maverick serial election contester who shares his name with current Bihar's best known politician.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran took note of the submissions of a lawyer that the plea, filed through TVK's secretary Aadhav Arjuna, be listed for hearing.
The Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede, prompting varied reactions from political parties. DMK claims misrepresentation in the petition, while AIADMK sees the decision as a setback for DMK. Other parties express their views on the investigation and its implications.
Jan Suraaj Spokesperson and one of the key architects of the Party, Pavan Verma, levelled serious allegations that funds from the World Bank meant for some other project were diverted for the Bihar Assembly elections by the central government and distributed to women voters in the state.
The list also includes the names of Mumbai BJP president Ashish Selar, fielded from the Vandre West seat, and senior party leader and Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane's son Nitesh Rane, fielded from Kankavli, a seat he currently represents in the assembly.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
"We did not know that a CBI inquiry was requested on our behalf regarding the Karur tragedy. It has been nine years since my husband Panneerselvam, who had signed the petition, abandoned us," says Sharmila, mother of the 9-year-old boy who had lost his life in the stampede during a political rally addressed by actor-politician Vijay.
'If the RJD loses it would be out of power for nearly 25 years. Meanwhile, the JD-U will have survival issues if it gets less number of seats.'
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
'Raj Thackeray is working at the behest of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
A seasoned politician and two-term Member of Parliament, Dr Shakeel Ahmad, who has served as a Union minister and senior Congress leader, resigned from the Congress party, marking the end of his decades-long association with an organisation that his family has been part of for three generations. In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff he speaks why he quit the party.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
Referring to the fatal incident that has so far claimed 41 lives, head of the panel and Bharatiya Janata Party MP, Hema Malini said that political rallies should be properly organised and conducted with full security.
In a question-answer session lasting two-and-a-half hours, Bhagwat responded to questions ranging from Manusmriti to AI, tariffs to caste, education, patriotism, national language, Partition, illegal immigration, attacks on Muslims, and the age of retirement for politicians.
The mass of voters chose Kejriwal and Mamdani for the simple reason that they were sick and tired of the stale promises and repetitive speeches belted out for long by mainstream political personalities, notes M R Narayan Swamy.
Like his father Karunanidhi and AIADMK rivals MGR and Jayalalithaa, Stalin would like to confine his real political work to Tamil Nadu, and not want to take after the late Congress leader K Kamaraj and take up a national role, even if to create greater political space for son Udhayanidhi, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Olympic medallist Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia said it was a vindictive move by the government which would quash the ban if he joins the BJP.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has decided to remain silent and direct all inquiries to party spokespersons following criticism over various issues, including his singing of the RSS anthem and remarks about the Chamundeswari hill.
Heated arguments were also witnessed when BJP leaders and others accompanying Kangana tried to pacify the residents, and police had to intervene to restore peace.
'It is high time to recognise that this is the greatest issue India is confronting.' 'Even the BJP should be raising concerns because polluted air suffocates everybody's child.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contacted Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and TVK party president Vijay following the Karur stampede, expressing concern and offering condolences. The incident resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries, prompting investigations and compensation announcements.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United made public the names of candidates for all 101 seats it will be contesting in the assembly polls, with more than half of them from the backward and extremely backward classes.
According to political observers, the AIMIM sees a catchment area in Bihar, where Muslims are more than 17 per cent of the total population but have never got a proportionate representation in the state legislature.
Before the violence and rioting that erupted in Nagpur on Monday, March 17, over Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb came provocative statements from various political leaders.
The Supreme Court has questioned the Madras High Court's decision to form a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the Karur stampede, which resulted in 41 deaths. The court raised concerns about the High Court's handling of the matter, particularly regarding the formation of the SIT and adverse remarks made against actor Vijay's political party.
Confusion prevailing in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) showed little signs of let up on Saturday, with just two days to go before the filing of nomination papers for the second and final phase of assembly elections comes to a close.
'Vijay is badly politically wounded.'
The BJP has launched a fresh attack on Rahul Gandhi, questioning his frequent visits to Vietnam. The party's leaders have accused him of spending more time in the Southeast Asian country than his constituency and have demanded an explanation for his "extraordinary fondness" for Vietnam. Gandhi's foreign trips have been a target of the BJP's criticism in the past, with the party portraying him as unserious and unfit for domestic politics.
'Non-BJP state governments and their leaders, navigating today's political landscape, know well they have no clue what awaits around the corner.' 'The chances of charges pressed and oneself getting parked in custody play out on an uneven playing field,' points out Shyam G Menon.
Politicians across the political spectrum graced Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani's wedding ceremonies at the Jio World Convention Centre at the Bandra Kurla Complex in north west Mumbai.
'While other parties generally need support directly from their central leadership to get influencers or celebrities to endorse their party, the work of identifying and contacting such influencers has been decentralised to state and district level IT cells to get more engagement in the BJP.'
The two weeks that EPS took fending off the Sengottaiyan rebellion has since become lost time for the AIADMK as that was also the time Vijay took to go all-out against Stalin and the DMK, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vijay, with his chief ministerial ambitions, is a one-man army, at least as of now, and his campaign team considers him omnipresent. He has to be present in all districts, if not all constituencies at the same time, as there is no second-line leader or platform speaker in the party, who can draw crowds, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 75 on Wednesday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party launching over a fortnight long 'Sewa Pakhwada' to mark the birthday of its preeminent leader.
If the TVK joins the NDA, there is every likelihood of the AIADMK winning an absolute majority in the 234 seat assembly and wanting to form a stand-alone government. In turn, it could mean that the BJP especially and the TVK equally so, will want to restrict the AIADMK's seat share closer to the cut-off figure, if only to ensure that EPS won't get the absolute majority that he desires (if the NDA won, that is) and will have to settle for a coalition government, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
An analysis of the upcoming Bihar elections, focusing on the key players, alliances, and issues that will shape the outcome. The article examines the strength of the ruling NDA coalition led by Nitish Kumar and the challenge posed by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, as well as the potential impact of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
Thirty-six people, including eight children, 16 women died in a stampede at the actor-politician Vijay's rally in Karur on Saturday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said.
'The people of Gujarat are more religious than people of other states, this gives the BJP an advantage.'
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor alleges Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary escaped a murder trial by falsely claiming to be a minor. He demands Choudhary's dismissal and threatens to expose further financial irregularities.
'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
