Chennai: AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa took over as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the third time on Monday. Jayalalithaa and her Cabinet colleagues were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Surjit Singh Barnala in Chennai. In the midst of the customary grandeur and the colourful and cheering crowd of cadres only eight ministers who were in her cabinet in the past have returned. Key figures...
12:47 PM, May 16, 2011
Tiruparankunram: In a marked departure from the usual practice of putting up posters for politicians and actors, some youngsters have put up a giant flex board near Tiruparankunram praising Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar for holding the assembly polls in a fair manner. The youths of Avaniapuram, who claimed to be members of the 'Praveen Kumar's fans association', said they also performed "milk abhishekam' to the Board, which...
11:56 AM, May 16, 2011
Chennai: The 34-member AIADMK ministry to be sworn in on Monday with J Jayalalithaa as its Chief Minister will be the largest Cabinet in the history of Tamil Nadu since independence. The AIADMK supremo has surprised all, including her party functionaries by introducing 24 new faces while leaving out some of the old warhorses like D Jayakumar, Pollachi V Jayaraman and B Valarmathi. As per the Constitution (91st Amendment) Act...
11:04 AM, May 16, 2011
Guwahati: The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the second largest party with 18 seats, is trying to bring in three more MLAs to its fold so that it can have its own Leader of Opposition in the 13th Assam Assembly. "Since we have three members less than the required 21 to have the Leader of Opposition, we are trying to bring in three like-minded elected members to our party...
08:16 AM, May 16, 2011
Guwahati: Tarun Gogoi is likely to be elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party on May 17 when Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee could be present, party sources said on Sunday. Gogoi would meet Governor J B Patnaik the next day to stake claim to form government, sources said. The chief minister had said the next government would have to be formed on or before May 19 when the term...
07:58 AM, May 16, 2011
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will hold discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday on government formation in West Bengal, where she will take charge as chief minister. Mamata, who along with Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived here from Kolkata on Saturday night, will also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Issues of government formation in West Bengal and Mamata's successor in the Railway Ministry are expected...
07:38 AM, May 16, 2011
Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy will be sworn in as Kerala Chief Minister on May 18, bringing an end to the tight race for the key post in the faction-ridden party in the state. What was expected to be tight race for the post of Chief Minister in the faction-ridden Congress in Kerala ended in a smooth affair with KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala denying speculations that he is in...
07:34 AM, May 16, 2011
Puducherry: N Rangasamy, who ended the reign of his former party Congress in a stunning electoral debut for his outfit, was on Monday sworn in as Chief Minister of Puducherry for a third term. 61-year old Rangasamy, chief of All India NR Congress, was administered oath of office by Lt Governor Iqbal Singh at the Raj Nivas here, making him the 18th Chief Minister of the tiny Union Territory. No...
07:19 AM, May 16, 2011
Chennai: Jayalalithaa, who ensured a landslide victory for AIADMK in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, will be sworn in as Chief Minister on Monday for a third term along with 33 others in her Cabinet in which she will retain police and home portfolios. The swearing-in ceremony of the 63-year-old leader will take place at the historic Madras University's centenary auditorium at 12:15 pm where Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,...
07:04 AM, May 16, 2011
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee arrived in New Delhi on Sunday night to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Accompanied by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, she reached the capital late in the night and told reporters she will meet the two leaders on Monday. She also said that the date for her swearing in ceremony will be decided once Manohan Singh can take out...
11:17 PM, May 15, 2011
Chennai: AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, who will be sworn in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on Monday, will have 33 ministers in her cabinet and she will hold key portfolios of Police and Home, among others. As many as 25 of the 34-member cabinet, which will be sworn in on Monday, are fresh faces which include youngsters like Senthil Balaji, who has been allotted the Transport Ministry, a release from the...
08:58 PM, May 15, 2011
Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress on Sunday formally staked claim to form the government in West Bengal shortly after Mamata Banerjee was elected Leader of it's Legislature Party. A four-member Trinamool Congress delegation met Governor M K Narayanan and submitted a list of 184 party MLAs staking claim to form the government. Trinamool Congress chief Banerjee was not in the delegation as she had left for New Delhi with Union Finance...
08:24 PM, May 15, 2011
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will chair the last Cabinet meeting of the outgoing government on Sunday evening and is likely to meet Governor J B Patnaik on Monday to stake claim to form the third consecutive Congress government in the state. Gogoi has called a meeting of his outgoing ministers at his residence where a decision to tender resignation to the Governor to facilitate the formation of the...
05:37 PM, May 15, 2011
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi's Youth Congress has not fared well in the Assmebly elections, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This has raised the question on whether his brand and strategy is working at all. In Tamil Nadu, all of the nine Youth Congress nominees lost and in Kerala, out of the 18 nominees, only six have won. Over the last one year, Rahul has concentrated on the South, which,...
05:36 PM, May 15, 2011
Among those expected to join Mamata's government is Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee, who won from Nalhati. ...
05:17 PM, May 15, 2011
New Delhi: Oommen Chandy has been elected as the Congress Legislative Party leader in Kerala, after the Congress-led UDF on Friday unseated the CPI(M)-led LDF, winning 72 seats. Chandy will be the new Chief Minister of Kerala as Kerala Congress president Ramesh Chennithala opted out of the race on Sunday saying he would like to concentrate on the party instead. Chandy said that the wafer thin majority will not create...
04:54 PM, May 15, 2011
Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devils Advocate. How does the Left view its defeat in West Bengal and Kerala? Thats the key issue I shall explore today with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India AB Bardhan. Mr Bardhan, the Left has lost both West Bengal and Kerala, was this an outcome you were expecting and prepared for or were you taken by surprise? A B Bardhan:...
02:54 PM, May 15, 2011
Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devils Advocate. How does the Left view its defeat in West Bengal and Kerala? Thats the key issue I shall explore today with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India AB Bardhan. Mr Bardhan, the Left has lost both West Bengal and Kerala, was this an outcome you were expecting and prepared for or were you taken by surprise? A B Bardhan:...
02:54 PM, May 15, 2011
In this episode, Karan Thapar discusses how does the Left view its defeat in West Bengal and Kerala with AB Bardhan. ...
02:48 PM, May 15, 2011
New Delhi: Describing the drubbing of the Left in West Bengal as a "defining moment", CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan has warned its leaders to "either change or you are out". Bardhan recalled that he had earlier cautioned over the "arrogance" of Left leaders, but refrained from blaming anybody in particular this time. "Remain a Communist but not a dogmatic. Those who cannot change will be out. Either you...
10:57 AM, May 15, 2011
