Random speak!

There are lot of stories being posted by fans of Rajinikanth, and also some purported  leaked messages by the actor himself, pointing to the fact that given the present Covid situation, and also the health condition of the actor who had got his renal issues treated abroad, his party which as planned ought to be deferred to a later date. Unless there is some more surprise in store, it now appears that the actor may not be venturing into active politics at all for the time being. Clearly, as most of us have opined, Superstar Rajinikanth has at best been a distraction on the busy realpolitik of the state, which goes to the polls sometime in the next year. This could come as a big relief for the DMK camp, and its leader M K Stalin, who now seem to have a clear edge in the upcoming polls, thanks to the 2 term incumbency that the present ADMK government, and the Chief Edappadi Palaniswami are faced with. Given the fact that there is a urge for change, the logical choice now is the DM...

The wide and well established perception among people in TN, including a whole lot of political observers is that DMK is poised to win big in the coming assembly elections, slated sometime in 2021. Reason - there is considerable anti incumbency, given the fact that the present ADMK rule has been on for two terms, and also that there is widespread discontent in the way issues like Covid management have been handled by the state. The other point that is being touted by many is that the present CM Edappadi Palaniswamy is more of an accidental CM, who took over the reins post all the drama that took place after the passing away of the leader of the party, J Jayalalitha, and the party loyalities getting shifted to Sasikala, and then to Edappadi Palaniswami. The fact that the present CM has indeed managed to hold forte for close to one full term, in the absence of any tall standing or charisma, is being completely discounted by almost all, who presume that Stalin as a leader ha...

Is the state of Tamilnadu in for a big political surprise, either in the run-up to the  assembly elections, the coming year 2021? There are some observers who also now suggest that the polls may get a bit delayed owing to the ongoing pandemic in Covid, and how people's life has been thrown out of gear. Irrespective of the delay, or even the fact that the polling percentage across the state could be drastically low, the polls will indeed happen - and that is not the surprise we are speaking of. In the normal course, after the present ruling party, the AIADMK having been in government for two successive terms, the opposition, under the able leadership of MK Stalin ought to be extremely confident of a easy and maybe simple win, in  the coming polls. That, in the normal course should be a given, in the backdrop of the fact that the ever charismatic Jayalalitha is not around to lead the AIADMK. That besides, most political observers here do say that the general popularity or leader...

The primary question for someone like me, these days in Tamilnadu - Is there something called unbiased media in this state, and is it ok to call large sections of the media sympathetic to one major ideology in this state as 'neutral media' - because, that is what is the kind of definition even established journalists seem to be giving, in respect of Chennai and Tamilnadu. Until recently, at least to an extent, we all thought that a large part of the media in Tamilnadu was neutral, with may be a handfiul of journalists taking sides or having no qualms that they are side with a political party, or say a kind of pan-regional idealogy, something like a Dravidian mindset. Thanks to the developments, and muck and counter muck in the recent past in the social media, by journalists themself or Youtubers who hold sympathy and exist to propagate a view point, be it right wing (BJP/RSS) or Dravidian viewpoint (DMK/ADMK etc) or a more widely accepted, and supposedly prevalent view, in the ...

I understand that many in the ranks of the opposition in this country, and a whole lot of so called enthusiasts on social media, are baying for the Governments blood, asking why enough details of the adventure or otherwise at the   Chinese border is not being made public. There is also one leader of a principal opposition party who seems to have asked why the government hadn’t taken the opposition into confidence before making any move to keep our borders in tact. Add caption There is no doubt that the government of the day has not been good at communicating a whole lot of things with the people of the country, particularly, in things that have consequence to the lives and welfare of people all over. Take for example the issue of how the initial perception was done by the leadership and governments across, when Covid broke out initially in the country. We can surely say that wrong expectations were created in the minds of the people, and an impression given that we as a nation ...

Our country is suffering a very tough time in the hands of the virus Covid 19, and the fact remains that it continues to spread havoc across the nation, almost in all the major cities and towns across. It's a matter of time before things ease out, and it now depends on fortitude and providence to see how much time and damage to the country's psyche before the deadly virus dies down - as they would now call it in technical parlance, the curve gets flattened, and they steeps downward, and dies. That would mean that we are at a point that there are no new covid cases reported in the country, and post that there remains a fairly long and quiet period in which no form of the said virus resurfaces to hit people's health and lives.  It's now common knowledge that when the pandemic first surfaced in the country sometime in late february this year (or early March), there was a fair sense of confidence in the nation's leadership and its people, that thanks to our common...

Its news allover, and even the DMK leader Mr M K Stalin has happily, with a lot of glee communicated through his twitter account, that IPAC, and Prashanth Kishore will steer forward the campaign of the party, in the run up to the elections in the coming year. That said, given that the party is fairly on a strong footing, and has unparalled organisational strengths, and also given the the ruling ADMK will not be able to perform well, thanks to the absence of co-ordinated leadership of that party, and also anti-incumbency, what puzzled seasoned political observers and even senior leader of the DMK is - what exactly will IPAC and its campaign support achieve, and how much will it catalyze the already poised to win DMK?? So, what is IPACs brief with the DMK? A few people we have spoken to, both in the DMK, and across the political spectrum of the state have confided that more than any on the ground difference, what Stalin intends to achieve through this engagement with Prasanth Ki...

Will he be a wave or bubble of distraction? Rajinikanth, in his own inimitable style makes it a point to pass one controversial comment or other, in his once a month media appearances in front of house in Poes Garden, Chennai. And every time he does that, the entire state - the media, the ruling party and the opposition, all in toe, jump through the roof with their extreme reactions, to what the man said or did not say. The fact remains that all Rajini has done as of now is to launch the prelude to his party, the Makkal Mandram, and carry out a host of welfare activities through that. Besides that, as of now, the apolitical forum is also seemingly being used to the future party's base infrastructure, for the likely political foray. But no one, even those close to the man, the superstar, and the so called phenomenon, has a remote inkling of when the actual party will be launched, and how well will it be geared in terms of being set to contest the state elections, due just...