Unless Governor Ravi or the Union of India moves in appeal, seeking a hearing by a constitutional Bench, this is where it all will have to end, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The other three crore -- nearly 40 percent -- will have to provide one of the 11 listed documents to establish their place or date of birth.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
The stage is set for a direct contest between NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy for the September 9 vice-presidential election. Nominations have been scrutinized and accepted.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party following the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections, accusing them of divisive politics and highlighting the rejection of casteism and communalism by the people of Bihar.
"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC said.
As US President Donald Trump claimed that India will significantly reduce Russian oil imports by year-end, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hit back by criticising him for making announcements on behalf of New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly elections as a win for good governance, development, and social justice. He congratulated alliance partners and thanked the people of Bihar for their support.
EVMs can't be used in presidential, vice-presidential, or Rajya Sabha polls because they only count simple votes, not the preference-based system needed for these elections.
'Kerala will lose 6 seats, Tamil Nadu 9 seats, Telangana and Karnataka 2 seats each, Andhra Pradesh 5 seats.'
This is important because he is to be seen as a sure winner before criss-crossing the state to campaign for candidates of the party or an alliance, highlights N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Some states have become more populous, while others have become less populous. Those who became less populous became economically strong. Those where population increased, they became economically weak
Movie stars Kamal Haasan and Gautami campaign for candidates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Tamil Nadu, which goes to the polls on Friday, April 19, 2024.
With the Election Commission keeping a hawk's eye on affairs, the usually flamboyant campaigning for Tamil Nadu polls has turned somewhat colourless, finds A Ganesh Nadar
Successive elections since 2019 have proved that the Modi charisma and Shah's strategy does not work in Tamil Nadu. Now, they have to see next year if the DMK is capable of losing, whether to an existing NDA alliance or an expanded version, if one becomes necessary and possible!, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
The likes of Sengottaiyan can help Vijay navigate it better and faster -- but not necessarily to his goal, which is farther, and can move towards or away from him as well in the weeks and months to come, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said.
A new book by former West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi claims that former chief election commissioner T N Seshan proposed an immediate halt to the general election process after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991 and even offered to become home minister. Gandhi, who was joint secretary to then president R Venkatraman, writes that Seshan was the one who broke the news of the assassination to the president and arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhawan "super-fast" that night. According to Gandhi's account, Seshan told Venkatraman that he felt the election process needed to be stopped and that he was ready to take on the role of home minister if necessary. However, Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra assured the president that the situation was under control and that there was no need to pause the election process. Seshan's suggestions were ultimately ignored, but he did manage to postpone the second and third phases of polling.
Over the last five days, Modi visited all of south, held roadshows, made an aggressive bid for his party, and took on the rivals with full gusto, especially the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana that was in power for 10 years.
Mahila court judge M Rajalakshmi, who convicted Gnanasekaran on May 28, awarded sentences in respect of each 11 charges proved by the prosecution against him. The sentences run concurrently, the judge added.
The BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the state's conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politics, by taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption.
AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami has ruled out the possibility of re-inducting expelled leaders like O Panneerselvam, stating that those who "betrayed" the party have no place in it. He also praised the BJP-led Centre for protecting the AIADMK government in 2017.
In his maiden public speech eight months after announcing the launch of TVK, Vijay said the late veterans MG Ramachandran and NT Ramarao were ridiculed as mere cinema actors when they made their political plunge "but they continue to remain in the hearts of the people" of the respective states, i.e Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
The Election Commission of India has released detailed statistical data from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, revealing a record voter turnout of 64.64 crore, with women outnumbering men. The data also highlights the participation of women candidates and the use of postal ballots, along with insights into overseas Indian electors.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD's Tejashwi Yadav for alleged abuses directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother during a political rally in Bihar. The BJP accused the opposition leaders of crossing 'limits of insult' with their remarks.
'Are elections still fair in India, or are we all witness to a macabre style of 'selection' of lawmakers? The jury will be out on this for a long time because there is no definitive evidence on either contention, at least as yet,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The inaugural Sangamam turned out to be a political Hindutva function than a gathering on the Hindu religion, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Radhakrishnan defeated INDIA bloc nominee Justice B Sudershan Reddy by 152 votes in the Vice Presidential elections held between 10 am and 5 pm on Tuesday.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is under pressure from his party as his unclear stand on the BJP alliance has brought back fears among party workers that the party may lose its identity, be forced into an unwanted coalition, and be taken over by the BJP later, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Nitish Kumar previously held tight control over key ministries, but this concession (giving the home portfolio to the BJP) reflects either his weakened political position or a pragmatic acknowledgment of the BJP's growing dominance.'
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was surging ahead in two southern states -- Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka -- while the respective blocs led by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu and Congress in Kerala were on their way for another excellent show, going by the latest trends emerging from the counting of voted polled in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.
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.
Moderate polling was witnessed in the first phase of local body elections, which began on Friday morning amidst tight security in Tamil Nadu.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's key ally in Tamil Nadu, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Wednesday slammed the saffron party alleging that it is anti-Tamil and claimed that the party could never grow in the state.
Over the medium and long term, the BJP hopes to devour the AIADMK, they having identified the party as 'ideologically not as sound as the DMK', predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
