O Panneerselvam: The reluctant Chief Minister

On Sunday, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam tendered his resignation citing ‘personal reasons’ and requested the TN Governor to relieve his council of ministers the following day. 

Unlike the earlier occasions, first in 2001 and later in 2014, when OPS was merely seen as a stopgap arrangement as the party supremo and late CM J Jayalalithaa was disqualified from holding the CM’s post, OPS’s most recent elevation as CM was perceived to extend for a longer term, with Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala content with keeping the party general secretary’s post to which she was elevated unanimously in December last year. 

Even as the clamour among senior AIADMK leaders and elected legislators grew in favour of Sasikala taking over the government as well since early December 2016, OPS handled several crunch situations including the destruction caused by Cyclone Vardah and a failed monsoon plunging the state into a water crisis in the same understated manner with which he has carried out his responsibilities through both previous terms. His conduct as CM in the recently assembly session had even won the hearts of rival DMK legislators who openly came out in his support. “Perhaps, he had become too humble for his own good this time,” said sources in the AIADMK on condition of anonymity. 

Born in Periyakulam in 1951, OPS started his political career in 1969 as a DMK cadre and joined AIADMK in 1973 after MGR founded the party and climbed up the ranks to be elected as Periyakulam panchayat chairman in 1996. 

In September 2001, he was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after Jayalalithaa was barred from holding office by the Supreme Court of India. He resigned in March 2002 after Jayalalithaa’s conviction was overturned and was elected from the Andipatti constituency to pave the way for her to be the CM. Again in September 2014, OPS was elected as the Chief Minister after Jayalalithaa was convicted in the disproportionate wealth case and lost her qualification only to resign again in May 2015.