If the DMK under Stalin is unable to do well in the Lok Sabha elections, his personal and political standing in the party will be threatened. But if the party does well, Stalin is the next kingmaker to watch out for. T E Narasimhan and Aditi Phadnis report.
We should be ready beforehand and I agree that if we have to go for alliances then the formalities of those alliances should be completed as soon as possible
Under the deal, the PMK will be supporting the AIADMK in the bypolls expected to 21 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, he said.
'When an individual becomes authoritarian, you can overthrow the individual easily. 'When the system becomes authoritarian, whoever challenges the system will be called a criminal or an anti-national.'
Rahul is scheduled to address a rally of the Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance on Tuesday at Karaikal in Puducherry.
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and the Union Territory of neighbouring Puducherry are likely to go to polls in April or May.
While the two-phased assembly polls voting has concluded in Assam, in West Bengal two phases have completed while four more remain.
The Act says the Legislative Assembly of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir may make laws for the whole or any part of the Union Territory with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the state list of the Constitution except the subjects mentioned in entries one and two -- 'public order' and 'police' respectively -- or the Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
The Jharkhand poll results also show that the caste equations against BJP are consolidating. Cong leaders feel that the BJP is not invincible and can be defeated if like-minded parties get together.
'More than losing Bengal, the worry for their national leadership is the current crisis.' 'If people perceive that the government does not do enough, then there's trouble.'
Without strategising together, Jayalalithaa's successor, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, and M Karunanidhi's son-cum-successor, M K Stalin, have used tough-talking on seat-sharing with allies, to replace charisma that they purportedly lacked, during the run-up to the assembly polls scheduled for April 6, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The chief government whip on Thursday sought their disqualification for alleged anti-party activities.
'They are our go-to men, our trouble-shooters.' 'They draw their strength from remaining low-key and accessible only to our workers.'
The exit poll results were released at the end of the polling in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, marking the closure of voting in four states and Puducherry.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds ahead of assembly elections.
With Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections, results for 51 assembly and two Lok Sabha bypolls spread across 18 states were declared on Thursday. Here are state-wise results of the bypolls.
'We may be weak now, but the importance of the Congress cannot be denied.'
In the second phase on April 18, 97 seats,spread across 13 states and one Union Territory, will go to the polls.
The six week-wait for who will rule Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal will end on Friday as counting of votes for assembly elections begins.
With the D-day for the polls drawing closer, Modi upped the ante against the Siddaramaiah government addressing four back to back rallies at Gadag, Tumakuru, Shivamogga and Mangaluru.
Assembly elections are due in the summer of 2016 in five places: Assam, West Bengal in the east and Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry in the south
It said that Congress' strategy to pursue 'fringe and disruptive politics' in Parliament was only for political reasons and opposition to the development agenda of the BJP government, which has been rejected by the people in the four large states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala.
The Left's decline will adversely change the complexion of Indian politics by pushing its centre of gravity further to the right. This would be tragic, says Praful Bidwai.
The Tamil Nadu Toddy Movement had met both Chief Minister Palaniswami and Stalin to seek their intervention in lifting the ban on toddy-tapping and had submitted petitions, but there it remained. So the matter is being taken to the people's court.
Other strong men have stopped Modi and his hordes in states before, but none of them with a footprint or battle cry to shake up New Delhi, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The recently concluded assembly polls in the four states -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and one Union Territory -- Puducherry saw a blatant use of money power. But interestingly, the newly elected members of Legislative have claimed in their expense statements submitted to the Election Commission that their expenditure was well below the prescribed limit.
'It was not the individual's decision. It was the collective decision (that BSY should resign).'
'Modi is still immensely popular and, therefore, he can sustain any number of policy failures.' 'Modi himself has worn multiple faces so it would be naive to think that the Modi of 2021 will be the same Modi that will be campaigning for re-election in 2024.'
'The BJP will not be able to create dictatorship of the kind it is perhaps dreaming of.' 'We have Bengal as the biggest example.'
Congress leaders are now in a "wait and watch" mode over the possible ripple effect of Punjab developments in faction-ridden Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the only two states other than Punjab where the party is in power on its own.
The Model code of conduct has come into force immediately in the states.
Missed out on the political buzz in the poll-bound states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry? Here's your daily election dope
Changes have been made in the original schedule of the 2011 IPL-4 because of the assembly elections in the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.
The Election Commission has decided to set up call centres across in the five poll-bound states -- Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry -- which will operate round the clock. These centres will receive complaints about the violation of the model code of conduct by the various candidates and their supporters.
Trinamool Congress-led alliance was on the cusp of a historic victory in West Bengal while Congress appeared set to capture Kerala and retain Assam but its ally Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam was facing rout in Tamil Nadu in the elections to state assemblies.
Counting of votes is underway for four Lok Sabha and eight assembly Constituencies, spread across six states and one Union Territory where by-elections were held on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "no respect" for the culture, language and people of Tamil Nadu, he alleged.
The assembly will have nine first-time MLAs along with a host of veterans that will reenter the House after varied periods of absence.
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.
The 71-year-old Dalit leader is expected to have a smooth sailing in the event of an election.
