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Tamil Nadu Elections
Union Minister Piyush Goyal will interact with senior BJP functionaries and meet Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi during his brief visit to Chennai on Tuesday. On his maiden visit to the state after taking over as the BJP's election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Goyal will also meet AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami. "He would interact with the state leaders to assess their preparedness for the 2026 Assembly election. The meeting is likely to be more of a familiarisation exercise since he took charge on December 15, a senior BJP leader told PTI. A source in the AIADMK said Goyal would meet Palaniswami for a luncheon meeting, setting the tone for future negotiations on seat sharing between the BJP and the AIADMK, which leads the NDA in the state. Goyal would wind up his visit by meeting Ravi in the evening.
A special general council meeting of Vijay-led TVK on Wednesday authorised the actor-politician to take a call on the party's alliance for next year's Assembly polls and announced him as its Chief Ministerial candidate. The special meeting of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam was held at a private hotel in Mahabalipuram near here under the leadership of the actor, who turned up in his trademark white shirt and stubbled look. A total of 12 resolutions on issues including the recurring arrests of Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan navy, women's safety in the state--the latest sexual assault of a woman in Coimbatore was highlighted, and the SIR of electoral rolls was adopted. The resolution authorising the party founder to decide on alliance for the Assembly polls was unanimously adopted at the general council, the party's decision-making body. Vijay is "the CM candidate loved by all sections of people. Under his leadership, will face the 2026 polls and authorise him to take a
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government survived a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday, shoring up its mandate after the nationalist opposition's victory in Poland's presidential election deepened political gridlock and raised doubts about Tusk's ability to deliver on key reforms. Lawmakers voted 243-210 in favour of the government in the 460-seat Sejm, the lower house, with supporters rising to applaud Tusk and chant his name. Tusk had requested the vote, saying Poland is in a new reality and that he was seeking a fresh opening, following the June 1 loss of Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski his close ally to nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki. Backed by President Donald Trump, Nawrocki is set to replace Andrzej Duda, another conservative who repeatedly blocked Tusk's reform efforts. I am asking for a vote of confidence with full conviction that we have a mandate to govern, to take full responsibility for what is happening in Poland, Tusk said earlier in the day. Most of t
Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah arrived here on Saturday night, his second crucial visit to Tamil Nadu in two months, to rev up the party machinery ahead of the 2026 Assembly election in the state. His visit has materialised exactly a week after the ruling DMK conducted its crucial general council meeting here and passing resolutions condemning the Centre. It also comes in the backdrop of a wrangle for leadership among the father-son duo in the PMK, BJP's ally, and amidst a resentment expressed by DMDK, an ally of the opposition AIADMK with whom Shah cobbled up an alliance during his April 10 visit to Chennai, over not allotting a Rajya Sabha seat to it (DMDK) as promised by the AIADMK in 2024. Further, former Chief Minister and ousted AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam had recently regretted that Shah had not called on him during the Chennai visit. His position like that of T T V Dhinakaran, though heading a fringe party, is still unclear about their support to the BJP's ..
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of a coalition government in the state if the alliance led by his party, in which the BJP is the key constituent, wins the 2026 Assembly election. Speaking to reporters, Palaniswami, answering a question, said that Union Minister Amit Shah had never said that there would be an AIADMK-BJP coalition government in Tamil Nadu. "He did not say that (a coalition government)," Palaniswami said. The relevant issue had been misunderstood by the media, which makes "tricks," Palaniswami alleged and requested the media to drop its "tricks." What was declared on April 11 by Shah was that the AIADMK-BJP alliance will win the polls and a government shall be formed, Palaniswami said, adding it does not denote a coalition government. If effect, Palaniswami ruled out the scope for sharing power with the BJP if the alliance wins polls. The AIADMK top leader said Shah also made it categorical that the alliance woul
Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagenthran has said that the question of allotting seats to allies Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam led by TTV Dhinakaran and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) for the 2026 Assembly polls would be addressed together by the leadership of the AIADMK and his party. On the remark made by him--when he took over as the BJP Tamil Nadu unit chief on April 12-- that he could only be a breeze while K Annamalai worked like a storm; and against this background how he planned to take on the ruling DMK, Nagenthran said issues that warranted a discussion or debate must be taken up and there is no doubt about it. Issues affecting the people had always been highlighted by him, including in the Assembly, and he would continue to do that, the newly elected BJP leader told PTI in an interview. Sixty four year-old Nagenthran represents the southern Tirunelveli constituency in the 234-member TN Assembly. Asked on his soft spoken image, including in the House and how
TVK leader Vijay not criticising AIADMK during his party's maiden state conference shows the opposition party was performing well, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Tuesday. Alliances are formed during elections based on the prevailing political situation and it was premature to talk about a pact with the newly founded Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), he said. Addressing reporters at the party headquarters here, the State Leader of Opposition also charged the DMK and its allies with having no ideology. When pointed out that Vijay had "directly" targeted the DMK and took a veiled dig at the BJP and spared his party of any criticism at the TVK state conference on Sunday, Palaniswami said with a smile, "that means the AIADMK is functioning well." Asked about the possibility of aligning with the actor's party, Palasniswami said Assembly polls in the state are scheduled one and a half years later from now. "As far as the AIADMK is concerned, the alliance is differe