Vijay was appointed CM after he presented letters of support from the VCK and the IUML who have two MLAs each.
The finance ministry has clarified that its letter to state chief secretaries, urging them to align their bonus policy to promote pulses, oilseeds, and millets, was an advisory and not a directive. This clarification comes in response to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's criticism, who called the advisory a 'treacherous act against farmers'.
The BJP is showing strong leads in West Bengal and Assam, while actor Vijay's party is making a significant debut in Tamil Nadu. The Congress is ahead in Kerala, offering some consolation amid the changing political landscape in the state elections.
It was also for the first time that the people of the state denied any political party an absolute majority and DMK formed a minority government with outside support from its allies Congress, Pattali Makkal Katchi and Left parties.
'Vijay entered politics at a much better age compared to Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan. His fans are young and he has at least 2-3 decades ahead of him.'
Legendary South Indian actress Sowcar Janaki, a Padma Shri awardee with a career spanning nearly seven decades and over 400 films, has passed away at 94, leaving an indelible mark on Indian cinema.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has voiced his support for the TMC and DMK after their losses in recent assembly elections, while criticising the Congress party.
The apex court also directed the government to prosecute under appropriate law anyone indulging in any activity that creates law and order problem in the state and stalls normal life.
With the Tamil Nadu electorate having given him an unprecedented mandate that had eluded his father the late M Karunanidhi, Stalin has to prove his worth, ensuring at the same time that the Dravidian drag on the AIADMK's side does not open up space for the BJP to make inroads in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Discover the top OTT releases this week, featuring a compelling mix of Hindi dramas like Imtiaz Ali's Main Vaapas Aaunga and Manoj Bajpayee's Governor, alongside regional and international titles.
Counting of votes begins in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and West Bengal, with significant implications for regional and national parties.
The state government's move comes following stiff opposition.
'The irresistible charm of Indian politics is it can always throw up surprises -- even when it looks as predictable as in Tamil Nadu,' discovers Shekhar Gupta.
For quite some time, there was speculation that actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam and the DMK would sign up with the strategist for the 2021 assembly polls.
Chief Minister O Panneerselvam wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "considering the groundswell of sentiment and support for the conduct of Jallikattu all over Tamil Nadu, this is an issue on which the government of India must act with maximum despatch."
'If Congress had aligned with the TVK before the election, we would have won almost a two-thirds majority.'
By asking Vijay to produce letters of majority support before inviting him to form the government, the governor risks overstepping established Constitutional principles, notes Harishchandra.
If the political parties in Tamil Nadu do not conduct themselves with a sense of balance and responsibility and indulge in competitive exploitation of the discontent in certain sections of the population over Sri Lanka-related issues, they may end up by creating passions beyond control in both countries, notes B Raman.
'Looking at the situation purely on its Constitutional merits, the governor's conduct is defensible.' 'He is saying: You do not have a majority, so prove it. That is not an unreasonable position even if the timing and the political context make it deeply controversial.'
Having a young, untested leader makes sense for the Tamil Nadu BJP. But the new state president's immediate concern will be to gain acceptance within the state unit that is still in the grip of those with a strong RSS background, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Nationwide protests against the NEET paper leak have intensified across several Indian states, with demonstrators condemning the Delhi Police crackdown and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The Congress party has called for further demonstrations, while various student and political groups have organised marches and sit-ins, some leading to clashes with police.
Narendra Modi's meeting with J Jayalalithaa in Chennai has set the rumour mills abuzz. Will the Tamil Nadu chief minister ally with the BJP ahead of the 2016 polls, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The financial situation of Tamil Nadu is much worse than it was in 2016.' 'The finance minister's is a horrendous job.' 'I am certainly not going to ask for it.'
Alagiri's father and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, his younger brother and Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin, and other members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's first family were present at the reception held under very tight security. Former Union telecom minister A Raja, who quit over the 2G spectrum scam, was seen standing near Karunanidhi for a long time, chatting with him at times
Constant harassment and pressure to accept bribes has left employees of the Tamil Nadu administration disillusioned, reports R Ramasubramanian from Chennai.
'The feeling is that Rajinikanth is pro-Modi than anti-Modi.'
For a party that has adopted the successful social re-engineering model from Gujarat, Rajasthan and across the rest of the 'Hindi belt' over the past decades, Tamil Nadu continues to remain a tricky customer, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Members of lottery 'king' Santiago Martin's family are contesting in the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Assembly elections through three different political parties.
"Those running a caste-based political party here [in Tamil Nadu] and claiming that they are the champions of the Tamil language, cling to power by aligning with North Indian parties," Vijaykant said taking a dig at PMK leader Ramadoss.
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 question for the next 20 years is not whether India can become a $5 trillion or $10 trillion economy. Those are attractive targets, but the real question is whether India can create enough productive jobs, educate its children properly, make its cities liveable, and give hundreds of millions of people a substantially better life, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and allowed separate seating for 20 rebel TMC lawmakers who joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), ahead of the Monsoon session.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said there are some parties that have expressed their inability to attend this particular meeting for their own reasons.
At a time when many Lok Sabha candidates are declaring assets worth crores, 14 candidates in the poll fray in Tamil Nadu, mostly independents, have declared zero assets. They are among 845 candidates of well-established political entities, among whom are 14 contestants with high liabilities of more than Rs five crore, as per an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms-Tamil Nadu Election Watch.
Vijay's electoral triumph in Tamil Nadu is poised to dramatically revive the fortunes of his much-anticipated final film, Jana Nayagan, which has been plagued by release delays, censorship battles, and a cancelled streaming deal.
Display of Jayalalithaa's portrait in the Republic Day tableaux in Chennai has stirred up a row
A Ganesh Nadar and Saisuresh Sivaswamy, on the campaign trail with H Vasanthakumar, the Congress's businessman candidate in Tamil Nadu.
The DMK, AIADMK, PMK, BJP gear up for next May's assembly elections.
Tamil Nadu's AIADMK, leading the NDA in the state, has released its first list of 23 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections, renominating key leaders and fielding experienced legislators from their traditional strongholds.
Major bills, including those on women's reservation, delimitation, and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), face an uncertain future in the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament due to persistent opposition protests and a lack of consensus.
