Traffic Police personnel take part in a bike rally to spread awareness on Covid-19, in Chennai, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (PTI Photo) Chennai, Hyderabad Coronavirus News May 3, 4 Highlights: Tamil Nadu recorded 21,228 positive cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the state tally to 12,49,292. Among these, Chennai reported 6228 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 3,58,573. The state recorded 144 deaths on Tuesday, putting the state toll at 14,612. 110 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 19,112 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 11,09,450.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won four seats in Tamil Nadu this time, making it eligible to enter the legislative Assembly for the first time in 20 years. While some of their big leaders lost this time, the saffron party has won in Nagercoil, Coimbatore (South), Modakurichi and Tirunelveli. Veteran leader MR Gandhi, BJP’s national women’s wing president Vanathi Srinivasan, former minister Nayinar Nagendran and CK Saraswathi managed to better their opponents.
Tamil Nadu recorded 21,228 positive cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the state tally to 12,49,292. Among these, Chennai reported 6228 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 3,58,573. The state recorded 144 deaths on Tuesday, putting the state toll at 14,612.110 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 19,112 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 11,09,450.
Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan met CM-designate MK Stalin at his residence in Chennai to congratulate DMK's victory in the recently concluded assembly election.
Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan met CM-designate MK Stalin at his residence in Chennai to congratulate DMK's victory in the recently concluded assembly election.
Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan met CM-designate MK Stalin at his residence in Chennai to congratulate DMK's victory in the recently concluded assembly election.
Chennai City Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal Tuesday launched 'Mask Podu, Righta Podu' (Wear mask properly) drive to bring awareness among the public.
An Amma Unavagam in the Maduravoyal area of Chennai run by the Tamil Nadu government was ransacked by unidentified people on Tuesday. In visuals that went viral on social media, a couple of men were seen tearing up the poster and boards of the canteen which carried the name of the late J Jayalalithaa.
‘Amma Unavagam’ is the brainchild of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The canteen had been functioning since 2013 and providing quality food at reasonable prices, such as an Idli for Re 1, curd rice for Rs 3 and Sambar rice for Rs 5. The canteens were launched to help the poorer sections of the society.
In the video, the canteen workers were seen standing in shock as the attack took place. One of the men who attacked the canteen was seen wearing a black and red coloured shawl, associated with the DMK party, around his neck. The man ransacked the canteen, including its kitchen and serving area. Vegetables and other food items were spilled on the ground
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After remaining steady for 18 consecutive days, petrol and diesel prices inched up across the country on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. In the national capital, petrol price rose by 15 paise while that of diesel climbed by 18 paise. The latest move by the oil marketing companies marks the first revision in auto fuel prices this month with the previous revision taking place on April 15, 2021.
In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 92.55 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 85.90 per litre.
The cost of petrol in Hyderabad is Rs. 94.16 per litre and that of diesel is Rs. 88.25 per litre.
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has announced that all trains will allow 50 per cent occupancy of passengers from May 6 to May 20, as per the instructions issued by the Tamil Nadu government. In a release, CMRL further stated that passengers should ensure that they are not seated on the seats marked with 'X' and no passenger will be allowed to travel while standing.
DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday said journalists, photojournalists and camerapersons working in print and broadcast media would be regarded as frontline workers in Tamil Nadu.
Whether rain or shine and even in the times of COVID-19 pandemic, personnel working in the media sector risked their lives in performing their duties and "they will be considered as frontline workers in Tamil Nadu," he said. Be it print or other types of media like the visual, all media personnel shall be treated as frontline workers and they will be provided concessions and rights available for frontline workers, he said in a statement.
Media sector is the fourth pillar of democracy and they worked hard to disseminate information and create awareness among the people, he added.
Stalin is all set to assume office as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu following the big win of his party in the Assembly elections. (PTI)
A total of 15,04,254 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 11,799 people inoculated on Monday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Nearly 35 tonnes of equipment, including 450 empty oxygen cylinders donated by the UK and airlifted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Britain arrived in Chennai early on Tuesday.
According to the Indian Red Cross Society, UK donated 5,000 cylinders to India through it to meet the emergency requirement for empty oxygen cylinders during the second wave of coronavirus in the country. Of these, 900 cylinders were meant for Tamil Nadu.
The equipment were brought from Brize Norton, by one of two IAF C-17 Globemaster aircraft that earlier left for the UK on May 2 from its Jamnagar air base in Gujarat to bring the supplies, a Defence release said. "The aircraft which left the Jamnagar air base on May 2, flew non-stop for 11 hours and 30 minutes to reach Brize Norton in the UK to airlift the critical life support equipment."
"The first aircraft landed at 0200 local time and with a quick turnaround, flew back to Chennai with 35 tonnes of equipment including 450 empty oxygen cylinders for India," it said, adding, the flight reached the city around 5 am on Tuesday.
An IRCS official, who received the oxygen cylinders, said 900 of them were meant for Tamil Nadu. "We received the first batch of 450 cylinders this morning and the second consignment will be delivered (later) today," M Karnan, Manager, Administration, IRCS, Tamil Nadu state branch, told PTI. Karnan received the cylinders on behalf of IRCS and handed over them to HLL Lifecare Ltd which would distribute to hospitals in consultation with the state health department. (PTI)
Ever since Hyderabad-based Santhana Selvan, a programme manager in an IT firm, shared his phone number online last week expressing his willingness to run errands for elderly people who are homebound amid the raging pandemic, requests have been pouring in.
Selvan, who has been adjudged the ‘Bicycle Mayor of Hyderabad’ by Amsterdam-based ‘BYCS’, a global initiative to promote the use of cycles in cities, started the initiative on April 30 with support from a handful of like-minded friends. Over the weekend, the number of volunteers crossed 100, with Selvan now confident to offer help to senior citizens all across Hyderabad.
While ‘Relief Riders’, as the group of cyclists, is christened, offers to deliver medicines for elderly people, the requests for assistance range from arranging oxygen cylinders, blood plasma units, emergency drugs, and even ICU beds. “We are cyclists and regular IT employees. As of now, we are delivering medicines before and after our office hours. With more volunteers joining in, we are thinking of expansion by adding food and other essentials, too, which can be delivered on cycle,” said 41-year-old Selvan, whose parents live by themselves in Chennai.
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Telangana registered 6,876 fresh coronavirus cases Monday, taking the tally to over 4.63 lakh while the toll stood at 2476 with 59 more casualties.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 1029, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri 502 and Rangareddy 387, a government bulletin said.
The total number of cumulative cases in the state stood at 4,63,361 while with 7,432 patients being cured, the total recoveries were at 3,81,365. The state has 79,520 active cases and nearly 71,000 samples were tested on Monday. Cumulatively, over 1.31 crore samples have been tested. The samples tested per million population was over 3.54 lakh, the bulletin said.
The case fatality rate in the state was 0.53 per cent while the recovery rate in Telangana was 82.30 per cent. (PTI)
The DMK has returned to power in Tamil Nadu after 10 years in opposition. The party’s main ideological adversary, the BJP, has been stopped in its tracks. While the cadre broke into spontaneous celebrations despite COVID-19 restrictions, party intellectuals were largely silent, breaking it only to hail Mamata Banerjee’s grand victory in West Bengal! Murmurs in DMK circles about the wisdom of handing over the election strategy to a north Indian Brahmin, Prashant Kishor, were audible early on. Kishor is now blamed for failing to lead the party to a 200-plus seat victory — the DMK alliance won only 158 out of a total of 234 states in the assembly.
For several decades now, the Tamil intellectual class has been partisan towards the DMK. Several independent commentators and centrists threw their weight behind the DMK this time largely because of their desire to keep the BJP out of Tamil Nadu. The media space, including the social media, barring the limited number of pro-BJP voices, has almost become an echo chamber, and somewhat out of step with the public mood.
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The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board on Monday permitted a few industries in Visakhapatnam to convert their existing nitrogen plants into medical oxygen generating units to meet the growing demand for oxygen due to spurt in Covid-19 cases.
APPCB Chairman A K Parida said the industries have been asked to use Pressure Swing Adsorption technology for the conversion process.
The Central Pollution Control Board would identify the vendors and provide technical support along with the APPCB to undertake the task on a war-footing to overcome the current short supply of medical oxygen.
Covid-19 hospitals identified by the state government would get direct supply of oxygen from these industries, Parida said. Aurobindo Pharma, Deccan Fine Chemicals, Metrochem API and Mylan Laboratories have been permitted to convert their nitrogen plants for medical oxygen generation. (PTI)
The ruling TRS party has won two Corporations - Warangal and Khammam and five other Municipalities in Telangana for which polls were held on April 30, according to the State Election Commission sources.
The counting was taken up on Monday.
Polls were also held for Achampet, Siddipet, Nakekal, Jadcherla and Kothur municipalities besides vacant seats in other urban bodies, including one in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
Congress won the Lingojiguda Division in GHMC which fell vacant after the death of a BJP corporator.
Thanking the voters for the victory, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, in a statement, said the people have once again proved that TRS is unbeatable. (PTI)
Not only has Tamil Nadu been the only win for Congress in the Assembly election results declared on May 2, the party has actually improved its performance from the last time in the state, despite many hiccups in the run-up to the election.
Before the 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK had told the Congress it would be given a maximum of 18 seats in their alliance. The offer was to take it or leave it. The Congress leadership came out and openly said they were treated badly by the DMK’s high command, and this lead to speculation that Congress might break its 15-year-old association with the DMK and join a third front. After the intervention of the national leadership, Congress leader KS Alagiri said the ball was in DMK’s court and the seat-sharing deal would be finalised soon.
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The AIADMK, which tasted defeat at the hands of arch-rival DMK after a decade in office, on Monday said it bowed to the people's verdict and that it has greater responsibility to discharge as an opposition party.
Expressing "heartfelt gratitude" to the people who voted for the party and its allies in the April 6 Assembly elections, the results of which were announced on Sunday, the party recalled its development initiatives. "People are well aware of the work done by the AIADMK government towards development during the last ten years in Tamil Nadu. Ruling and opposition parties are the two sides of the coin of administration. We have the responsibility to function like the axle to the wheel of administration," party coordinator O Panneerselvam and co-coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Monday.
In a joint statement, their first after the results were announced, the leaders said the AIADMK will serve with great responsibility as the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. "We express our heartfelt gratitude to the people who voted for the AIADMK and our allies; and also our party functionaries and alliance members, for having worked tirelessly day and night for the victory of the AIADMK-combine candidates in the elections," they said. (PTI)
Superstar Kamal Haasan might have lost the battle of Coimbatore South in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, but for actor-daughter Shruti Haasan, it’s his fighting spirit she will always be proud of. Shruti took to Instagram on Sunday to shower affection on her father shortly after Tamil Nadu election results were announced.
Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan faced defeat on his poll debut. BJP’s national women’s wing leader Vanathi Srinivasan, who was trailing initially, gained momentum in the second half of the day and managed to beat the Tamil actor by a slender margin of over 1,300 votes. Posting a picture of her father on an Instagram story, Shruti Haasan wrote, “Always so proud of my Appa. #Fighter #Terminator.”
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With the increase in new infections, DMK chief M K Stalin, set to become the Chief Minister, met at his residence with Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan and Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan.
During the meeting, Stalin directed the officials to take up measures against the spread of the virus and meet all the needs of the infected people.
He directed the officials to also take steps to ensure that Remdesivir used to treat COVID-19 patients was available in other districts in line with the medicines being sold in retail in Chennai.
He advised them to step up the infrastructure like adding beds, oxygen support facilities and medicine without delay, a press release said. (PTI)
The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to extend curfew hours in its efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
During a review meeting by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the government has decided to impose a curfew from 12 noon till 6 am from May 5.
Shops and business establishments can only remain open from 6 am to 12 pm, after which only essential services will be allowed to operate.
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A meeting of the newly elected AIADMK MLAs will be held in Chennai on May 7 under top leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami, the party said on Monday.
The meeting will be held at the party office in Chennai on Friday, a release said without elaborating.
The new MLAs might elect the Legislature Party Leader, paving the way for the person to become the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.
The AIADMK had lost the April 6 Assembly elections to arch-rival DMK, with its president M K Stalin all set to take over as Chief Minister, succeeding Palaniswami, after ten years in the opposition. (PTI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won four seats in Tamil Nadu this time, making it eligible to enter the legislative Assembly for the first time in 20 years.
The saffron party had entered the Tamil Nadu Assembly for the first time in 1996 when C Velyayudham managed to win a seat from Padmanabhapuram in the Kanyakumari constituency. In 2001, they allied with DMK and contested in as many as 21 constituencies. They then managed to win four constituencies and entered the assembly for the second time. However, after the 2001 elections, BJP drew a blank in 2006, 2011 and 2016.
While some of their big leaders lost this time, the saffron party has won in Nagercoil, Coimbatore (South), Modakurichi and Tirunelveli. Veteran leader MR Gandhi, BJP’s national women’s wing president Vanathi Srinivasan, former minister Nayinar Nagendran and CK Saraswathi managed to better their opponents.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami tendered his resignation and that of his cabinet and Governor Banwarilal Purohit accepted it, the Raj Bhavan said in Chennai on Monday.
"The Governor of Tamil Nadu accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Thiru Edappadi K Palaniswami and his Council of Ministers, with effect from the afternoon of 3.5.2021," a Raj Bhavan release said.
However, Purohit requested him and the present Council of Ministers to continue until alternative arrangements are made, the release added. Also, the "governor has dissolved the 15th (2016-21) Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly."
DMK captured the reins of power in Tamil Nadu from the AIADMK by winning 133 of the total 234 constituencies in the Assembly polls. The AIADMK won 66 seats. (PTI)
The DMK on Monday announced convening a meeting of the party's newly elected MLAs on May 4 in Chennai, where party chief M K Stalin is likely to be elected their Legislature Party Leader.
The DMK chief, who led his party to a comfortable win against the ruling AIADMK after a ten-year stint in the opposition, is now set to take over as Chief Minister.
"The meeting of newly elected MLAs will be held under the leadership of party president Stalin at Kalaignar Arangam in Arivalayam (DMK headquarters) at 6 PM on May 4," its general secretary Duraimurugan said in a statement. All the newly elected legislators have to attend the meeting without fail, he added. (PTI)
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced more restrictions from 4 am on May 6 to 4 am on May 20 as part of its Covid-19 containment strategy.
What is not allowed:
All vegetable and provision shops located in commercial complexes have to remain closed
All shops apart from vegetable and provision stores are barred from being open
Customers cannot sit and have food at restaurants and tea shops
All kinds of social, political, sports, educational, entertainment are being banned during this period
Cinemas will remain closed
Spas in rural areas should also remain closed
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced more restrictions from 4 am on May 6 to 4 am on May 20 as part of its Covid-19 containment strategy.
What is allowed:
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced more restrictions as part of its Covid-19 containment strategy, including a bar on running shops other than those selling essentials like vegetables and provisions.
An official release said with effect from May 6 to 20, vegetable and provision shops located in commercial complexes have to remain closed while standalone shops can be open only till noon with 50 per cent customers.
“Besides the above mentioned provision and vegetable shops, all other shops are barred from being open. There is no bar on shops selling essentials like milk and medicines,” it said, while pointing out at the sharp increase in coronavirus cases.
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Tamil Nadu recorded 20,952 positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 12,28,064. Among these, Chennai reported 6150 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 3,52,260. The state recorded 122 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 14,468. 100 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 18,016 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 10,90,338.
As of Monday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 1,23,258. Till date, 7,41,495 males, 4,86,531 females and 38 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 2,26,96,851 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,35,016 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 265 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 196 are private facilities.
Good morning!
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, politics, civic issues and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.
Tamil Nadu recorded 20,952 positive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the state tally to 12,28,064. Among these, Chennai reported 6150 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 3,52,260. The state recorded 122 deaths on Sunday, putting the state toll at 14,468. 100 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 18,016 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 10,90,338.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly elections results showed that the winners were mostly split between the DMK and AIADMK led alliances which left very little space for others. The focus garnered during campaigning by parties like Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam, TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and Seeman’s Naam Tamizhar Katchi did not however translate into electoral success.
Actor Kamal Haasan made his poll debut from Coimbatore (South) constituency, seen as a safe bet for the senior actor as he averted a direct contest with any of the Dravidian parties. But BJP Mahila Morcha president Vanathi Srinivasan ended up defeating the veteran actor by a slender margin of 1,728 votes though she was behind for most of the counting.
T T V Dhinakaran, the incumbent MLA from RK Nagar, tried his luck from Kovilpatti this time. But AIADMK minister C Kadambur Raju won the seat by 12,403 votes, in a way ending Dhinakaran’s claim to some of the AIADMK legacy.
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Advisor to the Tamil Nadu government and former chief secretary K Shanmugam tendered his resignation to Chie Secretary. "Due to personal reasons, I intend to receive from the post of Adviser. Accordingly, I hereby tender my resignation, which may be kindly accepted. I also express my gratitude to the Government and to all my colleagues for extending their full co-operation during tenure as Adviser," the letter read.
A total of 14,92,455 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 2251 people inoculated on Sunday, according to data by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami Monday extended his wishes to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on their wins.
AIADMK top leader and outgoing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday greeted DMK president M K Stalin who is set to assume office as the next Chief Minister, with the latter acknowledging that the role of opposition was key in democracy.
"I convey my best wishes to Thiru M K Stalin who is going to assume office as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu," Palaniswami said on his twitter handle.
Thanking Palaniswami, Stalin said the AIADMK leader's "advice and cooperation" was required to make a better Tamil Nadu. "Democracy is about ruling and opposition parties being together. Let us uphold such a democracy," Stalin added. (PTI)
Days after he was dropped from the Cabinet, the Telangana Government has ordered another inquiry against former health minister Etela Rajender following allegations that he had encroached lands belonging to a temple near his farmhouse in Shamirpet on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Rajender, who was sacked by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao last Saturday, is already facing a probe over allegations of land grabbing in Medak district. The fresh inquiry is related to the alleged encroachment of hundreds of acres of land “worth more than Rs 1,000 crore” in Shamirpet area.
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Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged across the country for the 18th straight day on Monday, May 3, 2021. The auto fuel prices were last revised on April 15, when petrol fell by 16 paise per litre and diesel slipped by 14 paise in the national capital.
In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 92.43 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 85.75 per litre.
Petrol in Hyderabad is priced at Rs. 93.99 per litre while diesel can be purchased at Rs. 88.05 per litre.
Telangana reported 5,695 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the tally to over 4.55 lakh while the toll rose to 2,417 with 49 more casualties, the state government said on Monday.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 1,352, followed by Rangareddy (483) and Medchal Malkajgiri (427), it said in a bulletin.
The total number of cumulative cases in the state stood at 4, 56,485 while with 6206 patients being cured, the total recoveries were at 3, 73,933. The state has 80,135 active cases and over 58 thousand samples were tested on Sunday. Cumulatively, over 1.31 crore samples have been tested. The samples tested per million population was over 3.52 lakh, the bulletin said.
The case fatality rate in the state was 0.52 per cent while the recovery rate in Telangana was 81.91 per cent. The state has 199 active micro containment zones. (PTI)
The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday indefinitely postponed Intermediate examinations that were scheduled to be held from May 5.
The decision was taken after the AP High Court directed the state government to reconsider its decision to hold exams from May 5 while haring a public interest litigation (PIL) stating that nearly 17 lakh students would be exposed to Covid-19 virus if the exams are conducted.
Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh said that the examinations were scheduled to start from May 5, but due to a spike in Covid cases across the state, the High Court has suggested reconsidering the decision and the government had postponed the examinations.
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A total of 228 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 114 arrivals and 114 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
Squeezed out by the two rival alliances led by DMK and AIADMK, it appeared to be the end of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), which failed to bag a single seat in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, with even party founder T T V Dhinakaran losing from Kovilpatti constituency.
The results announced on Sunday came as a major setback to the political ambitions of Dhinakaran, who floated the party in 2018 to prove a point shortly after his and his aunt V K Sasikala’s expulsion from the AIADMK.
The AMMK’s wipe-out is an outcome of a series of chaotic events – largely attributed to the BJP – that unfolded in Tamil Nadu after the death of the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016, which not only broke the spirit of the AIADMK but also led it to a forced alliance with the national party.
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Staving off a strong challenge from incumbent AIADMK, the alliance led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Sunday won or has leads in 157 seats out of 234, paving the way for the DMK’s return to power after a gap of 10 years.
At the time of going to press, the DMK had won or was leading in 133 seats (up from the 89 seats it won in 2016); the Congress in 16 of the 25 seats it contested; Dalit Party VCK in four seats; and the CPM and the CPI in two seats each.
Under the leadership of DMK chief M K Stalin, who is set to take charge as Chief Minister, the party had earlier won 38 of the 39 seats in the 2019 parliamentary polls.
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Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan faced defeat on his poll debut in the Coimbatore South constituency in Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. BJP’s national women’s wing leader Vanathi Srinivasan, who was trailing initially, gained momentum in the second half of the day and managed to beat the Tamil actor by a slender margin of over 1,300 votes.
The constituency, which gained huge traction from the day the candidates were announced, offered a nail-biting finish with Vanathi being declared winner only in the last round of counting of votes.
The Coimbatore (South) constituency saw a three-way battle between Haasan, Vanathi, and Congress candidate Mayura S Jayakumar. In the first couple of hours, Jayakumar gained some momentum but soon Haasan took the lead. The contest then looked like an easy finish for the Tamil actor until Vanathi made inroads. Since afternoon, the votes swung like a pendulum between the BJP and MNM. Till the 22nd round, Haasan was leading the contest but from thereon, Vanathi never looked back.
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After 10 years in opposition, the DMK couldn’t afford another defeat in this election. That it won eventually is due to a number of factors.
The last time the DMK was in opposition for so long was in the 1980s, for almost a decade, when AIADMK founder A G Ramachandran was in power until his death in 1987. After the DMK’s defeat in 2011, Stalin led the party’s campaign and was its key strategist in the 2016 polls. He erred by choosing to contest alone, a decision that led to the formation of a third front led by Left parties which eventually split the anti-government votes.
The 2019 Lok Sabha victory was Stalin’s steppingstone in the road to power. Ahead of the 2021 polls, not only Stalin but the entire party appeared confident even though there seemed to be no visible signs of strong anti-incumbency. It was the 10-years stunt in opposition that helped the DMK to win votes, especially when the AIADMK lacked a charismatic leader to match the stature of the late J Jayalalithaa.
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Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the swearing in ceremony of the new government led by his party would be simple, DMK president M K Stalin said in Chennai on Sunday.
Stalin, who spoke to reporters after paying floral tributes in the mausoleum of his father and late party patriarch ‘Kalaignar’ M Karunanidhi at the Marina beach said the date of the swearing-in ceremony would be made known soon.
The date and timing of the ceremeony, likely in Raj Bhavan would be simple and it shall be announced Monday night or on Tuesday, he told reporters.
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Tamil Nadu recorded 20,768 positive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the state tally to 12,07,112. Among these, Chennai reported 6078 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 3,45,966. The state recorded 153 deaths on Sunday, putting the state toll at 14,346. 113 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 17,576 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 10,72,322.
As of Sunday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 1,20,444. Till date, 7,29,150 males, 4,77,924 females and 38 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 2,29,56,942 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,43,083 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 265 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 196 are private facilities.
Good morning!
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, politics, civic issues and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.