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We are getting ready for it (2019 general elections) and it's true that we are ready already, Haasan said   Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief  Kamal Haasan  on Wednesday said that his party is ready for the 2019 general elections, but are not in a mindset to contest the forthcoming bye-election in Tamil Nadu. "We are getting ready for it (2019 general elections) and it's true that we are ready already," Haasan said at an event here. However, when asked whether his party will contest in the forthcoming bye-election in the state, Kamal replied, "We will teach a lesson to the government to tell them about their duties, but we are not in the mindset to contest it." Two Assembly seats - Thiruvarur and Thiruparankundram constituencies - have fallen vacant after the demise of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader A K Bose. A date for the bye-election is yet ...

Security tightened ahead of the expected arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other national leaders Almost 12 hours after the demise of M  Karunanidhi  -- five-time Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President, the situation in Chennai remains tense, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, several other ministers and very important persons expected to visit the city to pay tribute to the late veteran politician. There has been violence at some places after the state government denied a place for his burial at the Marina Beach, Chennai, where several leaders, including former Chief Ministers Annadurai, M G Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa, were buried. The workers raised slogans seeking a place at the Marina for their beloved leader as his final resting place. Some of these workers turned violent. The DMK leadership immediately approached the Madras High Court which adjourned the hearing to 8:30 am on Wednesd...

When the 61-year-old   V.K. Sasikala   – ‘chinnamma’, as she has anointed herself – is sworn in as the new chief minister of Tamil Nadu this week, she will be the third woman to hold the state’s top political job. But whether she will have a long innings in office, like her mentor, the late J. Jayalalithaa, or a short one like Janaki Ramachandran, will depend upon her ability to ensure the continuing loyalty of her party legislators. On Sunday afternoon, all 136 MLAs attending the ruling AIADMK party legislature meeting in Chennai lined up to unanimously choose her as chief minister. In the best traditions of authoritarian politics, her name was proposed by none other than the serving – and now outgoing – chief minister, O. Panneerselvam or OPS. But Sasikala’s show of strength amongst AIADMK legislators cannot hide the fact that the party’s rank and file cadres, and the wider public in the state, do not approve of the manner in which the reins of government have been pla...

Latest News   : In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Jallikattu issue, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Friday charged that he had time to meet actors and others but not the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MPs who wanted to discuss about holding the banned bull taming sport in Tamil Nadu during Pongal. DMK working president and Opposition Leader M K Stalin, who pressed the Centre to immediately promulgate an ordinance to hold the sport and that AIADMK should also press the Centre for it, said that "Tamils will not forgive" the two if such an urgent step was not taken. Referring to the AIADMK MPs from the state petitioning Prime Minister on the issue on Wednesday, Stalin asked if they could meet Modi. "Whom does Modi meet. Those known to him, including those from the cinema world, and immediately gives appointment to them. He has met actors including Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Rajinikanth and Gautami. I am not criti...

Tamil Nadu: Blow for Karunanidhi family's business interests? Thursday’s state election results are likely to make the fortunes for some businesses and mar for some others. The biggest and most prominent loser of the day was from the family of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. On the day of the results, the   Sun TV   stock lost Rs 2,229 crore in market value. Its market capitalisation fell from Rs 16,845 crore at its close on Thursday to Rs 14,616 crore at the end of the day. By virtue of his 75 per cent holding, DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s grandnephew Kalanithi Maran   would take three-fourths of that hit. This notional loss could be an indicator of the bad news in store for the family’s business interests that extend beyond media. While Maran was among the first in the family to get into organised business through his venture into broadcast media in the early 1990s, there were others who have followed in his footsteps. After a brief break-up in relations with the Ma...