Ottakarathevar Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS (born 14 January 1951)[1] is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu briefly in December 2016 and previously from 2001 to 2002 and again from 2014 to 2015. As finance minister, he has presented the Tamil Nadu state budget 11 times.[3]
O. Panneerselvam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 6th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu | |
| In office 6 December 2016 – 16 February 2017 | |
| Governor | C. Vidyasagar Rao |
| Cabinet | Panneerselvam ministry - III |
| Preceded by | J. Jayalalithaa |
| Succeeded by | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| In office 28 September 2014 – 23 May 2015 | |
| Governor | Konijeti Rosaiah |
| Cabinet | Panneerselvam ministry - II |
| Preceded by | J. Jayalalithaa |
| Succeeded by | J. Jayalalithaa |
| In office 21 September 2001 – 2 March 2002 | |
| Governor | |
| Cabinet | Panneerselvam ministry - I |
| Preceded by | J. Jayalalithaa |
| Succeeded by | J. Jayalalithaa |
| 15th Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 19 May 2006 – 28 May 2006 | |
| Chief Minister | M. Karunanidhi |
| Preceded by | K. Anbazhagan |
| Succeeded by | J. Jayalalithaa |
| Constituency | Periyakulam |
| Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 16 May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | S. Lakshmanan |
| Constituency | Bodinayakkanur |
| In office 14 May 2001 – 15 May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | L. Mookiah |
| Succeeded by | A. Laser |
| Constituency | Periyakulam |
| Coordinator of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| In office 21 August 2017 – 23 June 2022 | |
| Deputy | |
| Joint Coordinator | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Treasurer of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| In office 22 August 2017 – 11 July 2022 | |
| Coordinators |
|
| Preceded by | Dindigul C. Srinivasan |
| Succeeded by | Dindigul C. Srinivasan |
| In office 28 August 2007 – 14 February 2017 | |
| General Secretary |
|
| Preceded by | T. T. V. Dhinakaran |
| Succeeded by | Dindigul C. Srinivasan |
| Leader of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly House | |
| In office 4 January 2018 – 7 May 2021 | |
| Chief Minister | Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| Preceded by | K. A. Sengottaiyan |
| Succeeded by | Durai Murugan |
| In office 12 August 2015 – 17 February 2017 | |
| Chief Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Natham R. Viswanathan |
| Succeeded by | K. A. Sengottaiyan |
| In office 15 May 2011 – 27 November 2014 | |
| Chief Minister |
|
| Preceded by | K. Anbazhagan |
| Succeeded by | Natham R. Viswanathan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 January 1951[1] Periyakulam, Madras State, India (present-day Tamil Nadu) |
| Political party | Independent politician |
| Other political affiliations | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1973-2022) |
| Spouse | P. Vijayalakshmi (died 2021) |
| Children | 3 (including P. Ravindhranath)[2] |
| Parents |
|
| Residences |
|
| Education | B.A. |
| Alma mater | Hajee Karutha Rowther Howdia College |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Awards | International Rising Star of the Year-Asia (2019) |
| Nickname | O.P.S. |
He was the former co-ordinator of the AIADMK political party.[4][5] He was a staunch aide of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and AIADMK General Secretary J. Jayalalithaa. His first two terms as Chief Minister came when he replaced Jayalalithaa in the role, after she was forced to resign by the courts. His third term began following Jayalalithaa's death and ended 2 months later when Edappadi K. Palaniswami was selected as the Chief Minister by the party. On 4 January 2018, O. Panneerselvam elected as Leader of the House in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
Personal life
editPanneerselvam was born on 14 January 1951 in Periyakulam, Tamil Nadu. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Haji Karutha Rowther Howdia College in Uthamapalayam, Theni district. His close friends Salavuddin from Tenali encouraged him into politics. He also owned some agricultural land. He is married to P. Vijayalakshmi and the couple have three children. He is currently elected from the constituency of Bodinayakkanur, in Theni district.[6] His wife died on 1 September 2021 due to a heart attack[7] and his mother died at the age of 96 on 24 February 2023.
Political career
editEarly political career
editPanneerselvam started his political career periyakulam as a worker of the AIADMK in 1973 after M. G. Ramachandran split from the DMK. He was Chairman of Periyakulam Municipality from 1996 to 2001.
First term as Chief Minister, 2001-2002
editHe was sworn in as the 6th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in September 2001 when the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was barred from holding office by the Supreme Court of India. During his stint as Chief Minister, he was widely criticised for allegedly heading a puppet government managed by Jayalalithaa. His tenure lasted for six months, from 21 September 2001 to 1 March 2002. In March 2002, he resigned as Chief Minister and Jayalalithaa was sworn in again after the Madras high Court overturned her conviction and she won a by-election from Andipatti assembly constituency. From 2 March 2002 to 13 December 2003, he was the Minister for Public Works, Prohibition and Excise. Subsequently, he was also entrusted with the Revenue department's charge from 13 December 2003 to 15 May 2006.
Leader of the Opposition, 2006
editAfter the party lost the assembly elections in May 2006, Panneerselvam was the leader of the AIADMK legislative party and the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for about nine days. In that election, he was elected to be the member of Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from Periyakulam.
Second term as Chief Minister, 2014-2015
editIn 2011, he contested as an AIADMK candidate from the Bodinayakkanur and won. Again, he became the Minister of Finance in Jayalalithaa's government and held the office from 16 May 2011 to 27 September 2014. He was again entrusted with the responsibility of being Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 29 September 2014 when Jayalalitha was convicted in the disproportionate assets case. On 22 May 2015, he resigned as Chief Minister and Jayalalithaa was sworn in again after the Karnataka High Court acquitted her in the disproportionate assets case on 11 May 2015.[8][9]
A day after his resignation, on 23 May 2015, he was sworn in as Minister for Finance and Public Works Department in Jayalalithaa's government.
Third term as Chief Minister, 2016
editOn 6 December 2016, Panneerselvam was elected as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu following the death of incumbent Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.[10] On 11 December, he held his first cabinet meeting as a full-term Chief Minister.
Political crisis in AIADMK, 2017
editAfter his exit from AIADMK, Panneerselvam and his supporters appealed to the election commission to take action against the party General Secretary VKS and chief minister EPS .He also made a point to them that he needs the two leaf party symbol to contest in RK Nagar election. Also, Edappadi K. Palaniswami and supporters appealed against him, but the election commission rejected both the appeals and allotted two different symbols to each party.[11]
In August 2017, the Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam factions merged. He was made Deputy Chief Minister and was also given the finance portfolio.
Leadership Tussle with Edappadi K. Palaniswami, 2022
editOn 14 June 2022, citing the party's troubles in the polls, AIADMK district secretaries and other senior party members spoke out to shun the “dual leadership” system and came out publicly in favor of strong unitary leader to strengthen the organisation.
Palaniswami supporters pushed for the change in the party's leadership structure by staging a political coup against AIADMK Coordinator Panneerselvam, who had become weak within the party. According to many sources, of the AIADMK's 75 district secretaries, hardly 10 supported him. Of the party's 66 MLAs, only five MLAs were reportedly on Panneerselvam side and less than 20 percent of the party's general council members behind him ahead of crucial general council meeting on 23 June 2022, which was expected to elect the single leadership to the party.[12][13][14]
On 30 June 2022, Palaniswami wrote a letter to Panneerselvam asserting the latter ceased to be the party coordinator as the amendments made to the party's bylaw in the 2021 December executive committee meeting were not recognised in the general council meeting held on 23 June.[15][16]
On 11 July 2022, the Party General Council abolished the dual leadership model and empowered Palaniswami to be the Party Supremo.[17]
Expulsion from AIADMK
editOn 11 July 2022, Panneerselvam was expelled as Party Treasurer and primary member of the party for "anti-party" activities by the AIADMK General Council.[18][19][20] Dindigul Sreenivasan was made Party Treasurer succeeding him.[21] On 17 August, Justice G. Jayachandran of the Madras High Court ruled the expulsion of Panneerselvam and the decisions of the AIADMK General Council as invalid.[22] On 2 September 2022, a division bench of the High Court upheld the decisions of the AIADMK general council meeting held on 11 July 2022 and set aside the previous court order of the single judge in the appeal case of Palaniswami, thus effectively restoring unitary leadership.[23][24] On 12 September 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea of Panneerselvam challenging the order of Madras High Court to handover the keys to Palaniswami.[25] On 23 February 2023, the Supreme Court of India upheld the decisions of the AIADMK general council meeting held on 11 July 2022, and dismissed the petition of O. Panneerselvam challenging the previous order of the division bench, thus affirming unitary leadership under Edappadi K Palaniswami.[4][5] On 28 March 2023, The Madras High Court ruled in favor of Edappadi K. Palaniswami and dismissed the petitions of O. Panneerselvam challenging the resolutions passed at the general council meeting held on 11 July 2022. On the same day, AIADMK announced that Edappadi K. Palaniswami was elected as the general secretary through party's general secretary election.[26][27] On 20 April 2023, The Election Commission of India recognized Edappadi K Palaniswami as the AIADMK party general secretary, acknowledging the amendments to the party constitution and changes to list of office-bearers.[28][29] On 19 January 2024, the Supreme Court of India refused to stay the August 2023 order of the division bench of Madras High Court which dismissed the petitions of O. Panneerselvam challenging the 11 July general council resolutions that led to the expulsion of O. Panneerselvam and his supporters from the party, saying the interference at this stage will "lead to huge chaos".[30]
Controversy
editA report in The Week in December 2017, alleged that Panneerselvam was on the sand mining baron Sekhar Reddy's payroll.[31] Reddy was arrested by the Income Tax Department in March 2017 on money laundering charges. Five pages of the Reddy's Diary suggest alleged payments made to several AIADMK ministers, MLAs, and many others, amounting to more than ₹48 crore. At least five payments in which the word OPS or the name of his secretary Ramesh was written are shown in the contents of the diary.[32][33]
Elections contested
editHe is one among the politicians who won all the elections he has participated in.
Lok Sabha elections
edit| Elections | Constituency | Party | Result | % Votes | Opposition Candidate | Opposition Party | % Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Indian general election | Ramanathapuram | Independent Politician | Lost | 39.89% | Kani K. Navas | IUML | 45.89% |
Tamil Nadu Legislative elections
edit| Elections | Constituency | Party | Result | % Votes | Opposition Candidate | Opposition Party | % Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Periyakulam | AIADMK | Won | 54.28% | M. Abuthahir | DMK | 38.62% |
| 2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Periyakulam | AIADMK | Won | 49.81% | L. Mookiah | DMK | 39.00% |
| 2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Bodinayakkanur | AIADMK | Won | 56.69% | S. Lakshmanan | DMK | 38.89% |
| 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Bodinayakkanur | AIADMK | Won | 49.38% | S. Lakshmanan | DMK | 41.63% |
| 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Bodinayakkanur | AIADMK | Won | 46.58% | Thanga Tamil Selvan | DMK | 41.45% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Thiru O. Panneerselvam Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister". Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ Akshaya Nath (1 September 2021). "AIADMK leader Panneerselvam's wife Vijayalakshmi passes away after heart attack". India Today. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Tamil Nadu Budget 2021 February 22, 23 Highlights: TN Dy CM O Panneerselvam presents state interim budget; Opposition stages walkout". indianexpress. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ a b "அ.தி.மு.க. பொதுக்குழு செல்லும்; இடைக்கால பொதுச்செயலாளராக எடப்பாடி பழனிசாமி தேர்ந்து எடுத்தது செல்லும்- சுப்ரீம் கோர்ட்டு". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Supreme Court rejects Paneerselvam's plea, Palaniswamy to continue as AIADMK general secretary". indianexpress. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "O. Panneerselvam Biography - About family, political life, awards won, history". Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Former Tamilnadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's wife passes away". MSN. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ "DA case Live: Jayalalithaa walks out of prison, gets rousing welcome in Chennai". 18 October 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "TN CM O Panneerselvam resigns, makes way for Jayalalithaa to take over - Times of India". The Times of India. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Its official: AIADMK leaders choose O Panneerselvam as Jayalalithaas successor". Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Blow to AIADMK: 'Two leaves' symbol frozen by Election Commission". Deccan Chronicle. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
- ^ "Tamil Nadu: Can united front of the AIADMK survive?". The Times of India. 20 June 2022.
- ^ "EPS vs OPS: AIADMK grapples with internecine struggle for party control". The New Indian Express. 19 June 2022.
- ^ "More voices emerge in favour of unitary leadership in AIADMK". The Hindu. 19 June 2022.
- ^ "Tamil Nadu: Indicating OPS is no longer AIADMK coordinator, EPS says his letter on local body polls invalid". indianexpress. 30 June 2022.
- ^ "You are no longer AIADMK coordinator, EPS tells OPS". hindustantimes. 1 July 2022.
- ^ "AIADMK Tussle: Court Setback For OPS, Rival EPS Takes Charge". ndtv. 11 July 2022.
- ^ "அதிமுகவிலிருந்து ஓபிஎஸ் அனைத்து பதவிகளிலிருந்தும் நீக்கம்!". news18 tamil (in Tamil). 11 July 2022.
- ^ "OPS Expelled from AIADMK Through Special Resolution After EPS Takes Control of Party". news18. 11 July 2022.
- ^ "AIADMK Tussle: EPS Is New Boss, Rival OPS Expelled". ndtv. 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Sec 144 Around AIADMK HQ in Chennai as Party Expels OPS After EPS Gains Control". news18. 11 July 2022.
- ^ Akshaya Nath (17 August 2022). "Its victory of AIADMK cadres: O Panneerselvam after Madras HC rules his expulsion from party invalid". India Today. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "அதிமுக பொதுக்குழு செல்லும்; தனி நீதிபதி உத்தரவு ரத்து". News7 Tamil. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ S, Mohamed Imranullah (2 September 2022). "AIADMK leadership tussle: Division Bench of Madras High Court reverses earlier order in favour of OPS". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ "Supreme Court dismisses OPS plea, says sealing party office has consequences in democracy". The Indian Express. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ MARIAPPAN, JULIE (28 March 2023). "EPS becomes AIADMK general secretary; OPS petition rejected in Madras HC". timesofindia.
- ^ S, Mohamed Imranullah (28 March 2023). "Madras High Court rejects expelled AIADMK leaders' interim applications against party's 2022 general council resolutions". The Hindu.
- ^ "AIADMK Amended Constitution dated 20.04.2023.pdf". Election Commission of India. 20 April 2023.
- ^ "Election Commission of India recognises Edappadi K. Palaniswami as AIADMK general secretary". The Hindu. 20 April 2023.
- ^ "AIADMK tussle: SC says its interference in OPS versus EPS dispute now will lead to 'huge chaos'". thehindu. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "O Panneerselvam Dodges Corruption Charge As Report Triggers New Row". NDTV.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ "Sekar Reddy's 'secret diary': Were OPS, other ministers on mining baron's payroll?". The News Minute. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ "Money, and the man?". The Week. 17 December 2017.