The Indian Navy on Friday confirmed that the safety of the crew, held captive by armed pirates, had been ensured

In a major development in the Delhi liquor policy case, BRS leader K Kavitha has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in Hyderabad and is being brought to Delhi, top sources have told NDTV. 

The Madras High Court has ordered Tamil Nadu Police to permit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 4 km roadshow in Coimbatore Monday, albeit with certain conditions.

Police Friday morning had refused permission, citing law-and-order concerns and the conduct of a public exam. The cops also said permission had been refused to other political parties as well, so there was no question of targeting any side.

The court pointed out state apparatus had a minimal role in securing rallies or events attended by the Prime Minister, who is guarded by the Special Protection Group. The police, though, said insisted they assume “equal responsibility”.

The Prime Minister this weekend is spearheading a mega outreach to the southern states – which have traditionally rejected the BJP – ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The dates for the election will be announced at 3 pm Saturday.

The PM, who has set the BJP a target of 370 seats this election – is on his fifth Tamil Nadu visit, and has taken on the ruling DMK and its INDIA allies, including the Congress, criticising their involvement in scams and pitching himself as an icon of development.

The BJP has a negligible presence in Tamil Nadu.

In the last general election it got a less than three per cent vote-share and, this time around, is without a major ally after the AIADMK’s acrimonious exit. The broken BJP-AIADMK relationship has not, however, stopped the PM from reaching out to his ex-allies; earlier this week he praised AIADMK icon and ex-Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The AIADMK, though, has shown no signs of thawing and is insistent it will fight for Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats on its own. The BJP-AIADMK tie-up has not had good results for the state party, which has lost to fierce rivals DMK in the last two major polls.

The BJP has also reached out to smaller Tamil parties, including S Ramadoss’ PMK and DMDK of late actor-politician Vijaykanth. The saffron party has seen some success, with S Vijayadharani, the sitting MLA from Vilavancode in Kanyakumari district switching sides.

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