OPS Vs OPS Vs OPS Vs OPS Vs OPS in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha seat?

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, known as OPS, has been caught up in a rare situation in the run up to the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. He is contesting from Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency, where four candidates with the same name as his — O Panneerselvam — have filed nominations.

There are a total of five O Panneerselvams who want to fight for the Ramanathapuram seat. All of them, including the former Tamil Nadu CM and expelled AIADMK leader OPS, have filed nominations as independent candidates.

Those having the same name and initial as the former chief minister OPS are Ochappan Panneerselvam, Oyya Thevar Panneerselvam, Ocha Thevar Panneerselvam, Oyyaram Panneerselvam, as per the Election Commission’s data.

The four namesakes filed nominations on March 26, a day after the expelled AIADMK leader submitted his papers. While Oyyaram Pannerselvam hails from the Ramanathapuram district, three others belong to the Madurai district.

Meanwhile, the information uploaded on the Elections Commission’s ‘Know Your Candidate’ app shows the nomination status of at least three O Panneerselvams as rejected. That of the former CM was rejected twice.

ALSO READ: AIADMK Live: EPS-OPS faction removes Sasikala as general secretary, Dhinakaran questions move

Move to confuse voters?

Four namesakes of O Panneerselvam contesting against him are feared to confuse voters.

Supporters of the former CM said it was the ‘ploy’ of the traitors, apparently referring to AIADMK led by its chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, news agency PTI reported.

In the official list of candidates, only the letter ‘O’ will be prefixed to the names of candidates as is the practice. Only the photograph of the candidates and the individual symbol allotted to them will help voters differentiate between them.

Panneerselvam’s power struggle

O Panneerselvam, who is an MLA from the Bodinayakanur constituency, banks heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to bail him out of the political quagmire. He had announced to contest as an independent with the support of the BJP for the April 19 polls.

O Panneerselvam had been in a power tussle against AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami. In the process, Panneerselvam and his supporters were expelled by a party general council in July 2022. The courts also upheld the decision.

Recently, the Madras High Court restrained him from using the party’s symbol two leaves, the official flag and letterhead. Later, he formed the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhaga Cadres Right Retrieval Organisation.