O. Panneerselvam

O. Panneerselvam
O. Panneerselvam
24th & 28th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 September 2014
Preceded by	J. Jayalalithaa
Constituency	Bodinayakanur
In office 21 September 2001 – 1 March 2002
Preceded by	J. Jayalalithaa
Succeeded by	J. Jayalalithaa
Constituency	Periyakulam
Personal details
Born	January 1951 ( 63 Years ) Periyakulam, Tamilnadu
Political party	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Residence(s)	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Chief Minister elect of Tamil Nadu

O. Panneerselvam born January 1951, is the [Chief Minister]] of state of Tamil Nadu, India.

Personal life

Panneerselvam was born in Periyakulam located in Theni District, on the 14th of January,1951. His father's name was Ottakara Thevar and he is married to Vijayalakshmi and is the father of three children He has graduated from Haji Karutha Ravuthar Kavuthiya Arts College in Uthamapalayam according to the Tamil Nadu Assembly website. Before he joined politics, Panneerselvam used to own agricultural lands and his first job was as a tea stall owner in his village. He is currently elected from the constituency of Bodinayakkanur which is also located in Theni District. .

Political career

He became the chairman of Periyakulam municipality in 1996. He won the 2001 assembly elections from Periyakulam and become the PWD minister. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in September 2001 when then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was barred from holding office by the Supreme Court of India. In March 2002, he resigned as Chief Minister and J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in after the Supreme Court overturned her conviction and she won a by-election from Andipatti assembly constituency. During his stint as Chief Minister, he was widely criticized of heading a puppet government closely micro-managed by Jayalalithaa.

After his resignation he became the Public Works Department minister in the Jayalalithaa government. O. Panneerselvam was the leader of the AIADMK legislative party and the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for about two weeks, after the party lost the assembly elections in May 2006. In that election, he was elected to be the member of Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from Periyakulam. After all the AIADMK legislators were suspended by the speaker of the house, Jayalalithaa who had decided not to attend the Legislative Assembly decided to return and replaced O. Panneerselvam as the Leader of the Opposition. On September 27, 2014, after the conviction of then chief minister J. Jayalalithaa in disproportionate assets case, former Chief minister Jayalalitha of the AIADMK chose O. Panneerselvam as the new chief minister of Tamil Nadu.