Governor S S Barnala accepted the resignation of Karunanidhi and his council of ministers (with effect) from this afternoon, a Raj Bhavan communique said. Accepting the resignation, Barnala has asked the 87 year-old leader and his colleagues to continue functioning in the present capacity as he appreciated the advice and co-operation offered by the DMK president
The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has sparked controversy by replacing the Indian Rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in the logo for its 2025-26 budget. The move has drawn criticism from the state BJP, which accused the ruling party of being "stupid." The development comes amidst the ongoing language row between the Centre and Tamil Nadu, with the latter alleging Hindi imposition by the Union government.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
'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.'
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.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal. The court is also addressing concerns about disenfranchisement and citizenship issues related to the revision process.
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
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.
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.
Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar criticizes the state government for the water crisis in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the Attukal Pongala festival, alleging negligence and failure to utilize funds. He also addressed the Gulf conflict and political alliances in the state.
'The feeling is that Rajinikanth is pro-Modi than anti-Modi.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged voters to 'take revenge' for the deletion of names from electoral rolls, alleging the BJP is behind the changes. She also addressed concerns about EVM tampering and the deployment of officers to other states.
One Rajya Sabha seat is a small price to pay for all the skills that Kamal Haasan brings to the table, points out Aditi Phadnis.
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 DMK, AIADMK, PMK, BJP gear up for next May's assembly elections.
As Tamil Nadu gears up for elections, a clash of films with distinct political ideologies is set to unfold at the box office, mirroring the rivalry between political parties.
The CBI took over the case from an SIT following a Supreme Court order, and the investigating agency has been gathering evidence relating to the stampede that occurred during a political meeting addressed by Vijay on September 27, 2025 in Karur, Tamil Nadu. The incident had left 41 dead and more than 60 injured.
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.
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"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.
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.
Display of Jayalalithaa's portrait in the Republic Day tableaux in Chennai has stirred up a row
Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu's new CM was among the senior ministers who had proximity to Jayalalithaa.
A Ganesh Nadar and Saisuresh Sivaswamy, on the campaign trail with H Vasanthakumar, the Congress's businessman candidate in Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday slammed his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath over the language row, calling his remarks "political black comedy." Stalin said his state was not opposing a language, but its "imposition and chauvinism." He also claimed that Tamil Nadu's voice on the two language policy and fair delimitation "is echoing nationwideand the BJP is clearly rattled." Stalin was reacting to Yogi's reported allegations that the DMK government was indulging in divisive tactics by using language issue. BJP state president K Annamalai hit back at Stalin, claiming the DMK leader owns private schools that teach three languages but opposes the same policy for government school students in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X, Thackeray also claimed that those who attended Bhagwat's programme in Mumbai on February 7-8 to mark the RSS centenary did not come out of love for him but due to the fear of Narendra Modi's government.
The BJP's national leadership seems to have convinced itself that with a weakened, post-Jaya AIADMK for company, they should be able to strike roots before long, and start by winning about 10-15 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Why is the BJP playing 'competitive politics' where there is scope or room for none? The release of 5 Indian fishermen on death row in Sri Lanka was a victory for India's quiet diplomacy of long years in the matter -- and not for loud politics by parties in the country.
Party cadres noted that the second iteration was significantly more organised than the Chennai debut, a shift partially attributed to the choice of venue and the ample parking space.
At a time when investors are taking a "wait and watch" approach on fresh investment, Tamil Nadu in the past 10 months has signed 63 MoUs, enabling investment worth Rs 19,083 crore. After Palaniswami took over as chief minister in February 2017, cumulative FDI rose by Rs 46,427 crore from Rs 133 trillion (April 2000 to March 2017) to Rs 180 trillion by June this year. Thanks to the Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation Act, 2018, and the single window for applying and getting clearance for doing business, the ease of business issue has been addressed.
The Election Commission has defended its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court, refuting allegations of mass deletion of genuine voters as exaggerated and politically motivated.
This is perhaps for the first time the CBI raided a serving police chief of a state.
Tamil Nadu's obsession for honorifics appears to be a never-ending story. The latest is the "Ezhuchi Nayagan" (rising leader) title for All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's new interim general secretary K Palaniswami, proposed by the party's presidium chairman Tamil Magan Hussain in Chennai on Monday.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
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