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.
There is also a catchy slogan coined for the occasion, by none other than Jayalalitha herself: 'Naalai Namadhe, Naarpadhum Namadhe'. Rendered in English it means, 'The future is ours, 40 is ours' (referring to the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puduchery combined).
There are 64 vacancies in the legislative assemblies of various states and one in Lok Sabha.
However, the percentage is likely to go up as the figures were not final.
DMK president M Karunanidhi on Monday said the AIADMK's victory in the byelections to the Tamil Nadu assembly from Kancheepuram and Gummidipoondi was due to 'misuse of official machinery'.
The Telangana issue assumed centre stage on Thursday night as Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily held consultations with Congress members of Legislative Assembly and members of Parliament. Though a lot of hope was pinned by the Telangana leaders on this meeting there was absolutely no decision taken on issue of statehood, say insiders. However, the mass resignation programme by these elected representatives will be put on hold till the assembly elections in five states.
Putting up a spirited performance in the assembly by-polls despite its Lok Sabha debacle, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu has won nine of the 22 segments where elections were held in two phases in April and May.
Former Union minister K V Thangkabalu, a senior Congress leader from Tamil Nadu, has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
Elections to Bihar Assembly before November 22: EC
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asked party workers to dispel doubts about the party regaining power in Tamil Nadu in the future, but urged them to strengthen it by focusing more on local body polls instead of being 'preoccupied' with Parliament or assembly elections. "Most youth Congress leaders are preoccupied with assembly and parliamentary elections and do not care about panchayat and local bodies. We have to strengthen it from the grassroots," he said
The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in the presidential poll scheduled for July 18 due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
'I didn't get the ticket because I am a Tamil and this is a Tamil area. I work for all people and that is why the majority voted for me.'
Many supporters and fans who gathered outside his home, wore T-shirts with brightly embossed image of the actor and his political catchphrases like 'Ippo Illaina Eppovaum Illai' (Now or never) as they appeared swept by political fervour with their favourite star's recent announcement of party launch.
According to rough figures available, about 65 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise.
By aligning with the BJP, even if they were arm-twisted into doing so, the AIADMK leadership has yielded their political space in the state to the aunt-nephew duo of Sasikala-Dinakaran, and the parliamentary election to the DMK-Congress combine, says A Ganesh Nadar.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
There are two such seats in Tamil Nadu and one each in West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Madhya Pradesh.
Everyone on election duty for the upcoming polls for five assemblies will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before polling day, the Election Commission said on Friday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, was conspicuous by her absence at the event, which was attended by tens of thousands of people as the Congress sought to promote opposition unity.
Coronavirus safety norms have gone for a toss as party supporters in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal crowd main roads to celebrate their leads in the state elections. The Election Commission banned all victory processions after counting of votes in states where assembly polls were held to check the spread of coronavirus.
Amid signs of increasing bonhomie between her and her Telangana and Tamil Nadu counterparts Rao and Stalin, Banerjee had approached the two on Sunday to set up meetings of opposition chief ministers.
Tamil Nadu topped the tally of total seizure of cash where a latest Election Commission data said the figure went up to Rs 112.89 crore.
Tamil Nadu unit Bharatiya Janata Party president Tamilisai Soundarajan on Monday said the list of those joining the party was growing as it was the "last hope" for the nation's development and a corruption-free administration.
The Tamil Nadu voter may not be in the mood to test new talent, not when the state and the people are going through unprecedented and unanticipated crises, of which coronavirus is only the first. All of it boils down to an election between the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition DMK next year, with small-timers, had-been parties and promised parties left on the sidelines, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
With photographs of some of India's top political leaders, A Ganesh Nadar travelled to the interiors of Tamil Nadu to see if the common man could identify their netas.
Sources said that Congress leaders, including Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, AK Antony, Ambika Soni and Randeep Surjewala, are also taking part in the meeting at Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence.
According to sources, the filters were applied on Saturday night soon after the poll schedule was announced.
RS member Derek O'Brien said due to the polls, MPs of his party would not be able to attend the Parliament session.
'The honourable prime minister virtually handpicked me for the Amritsar East seat.' 'Amit Shahji announced that if I am elected, the whole of Punjab will be drugs free.'
Udhayanidhi, the 45-year old actor-producer is hailed as the "rising sun" by DMK workers, in obvious reference to the party's Rising Sun symbol.
It would be good if all political parties understood the advantages, he said.
In a further setback to deposed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader O Panneerselvam, the Madras high court on Friday dismissed his appeals against the 2022 general council meet of the party, which among others had elected his rival Edappadi K Palaniswami as interim chief, besides expelling OPS and his aides.
Bettering the promise of monthly payouts to homemakers by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the DMK, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam on Friday assured Rs 3,000 "value rights assistance" to them in its manifesto for the April 6 assembly polls, but maintained it was not a dole.
Political parties have begun to gear up for the 2014 elections, but first they have to face the electorate in five states in the assembly elections due later this year. The national leaders are busy addressing massive rallies, flying around in helicopters, even while being fiercely guarded by their security cordon. They may be sold on their own visibility and recognisability and appeal among the voters, but how well-known are they really in India's small towns and villages? A Ganesh Nadar travelled to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu which is the southern-most district in mainland India.
The Trinamool Congress registered a decisive victory in West Bengal on Sunday, contrary to results of most exit polls which predicted a tight race between the BJP and the TMC with an edge to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
'The second Covid wave spread due to the irresponsibility of the Election Commission of India and now they are committing the same mistake.'
Vijay has a lot of young and middle-aged women fans, but as voters, they are possibly now with the DMK, or remain with the AIADMK. Recapturing this constituency would have helped Vijay's political launch and the GOAT script and dialogues could have gone a long way in helping out. But the kind of script and screenplay and the unusually and equally unnecessary long run-time (3 hours, 3 minutes) that GOAT offers takes the film experience over the heads of those that are not familiar with secret agents and uranium theft in Tamil cinema, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
fate of the AIADMK's chief's appeal against her conviction and four years of jailing by a special court in Bengaluru in the disproportionate assets will be decided by the Karnataka high court on Monday
Tandon, who reviewed the situation in Kerala and elicited views of major political parties, said the state government had suggested two-phase polling for Kerala.
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