TN 2026  ›  All MLAs  ›  Panneerselvam O.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam · MLA Bodinayakanur · AC 200

Panneerselvam O.

O. Panneerselvam won Bodinayakanur (AC 200) in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election as the DMK candidate, polling 85,206 votes and winning by a margin of 6,805 over TVK's S. Prakash. OPS, a three-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (2001-02, 2014-15, December 2016 – February 2017) and former Deputy Chief Minister (2017-21) had been expelled from the AIADMK on 11 July 2022 after the leadership war with Edappadi K. Palaniswami. He joined the DMK in the presence of M. K. Stalin on 27 February 2026, contested Bodinayakanur — a seat he had held since 2011 — under the DMK symbol, and added a fifth term from the constituency.

PO
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Panneerselvam O.

DMKMLA · Bodinayakanur
Born
14 January 1951 in Periyakulam, Theni district (75 yrs)
Constituency
Bodinayakanur · AC 200
District
Theni
Party
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Profession
Politician (1996– ); former agriculturist; three-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
2026 result
won by 6,805 votes
Education
B. A (Economics) - Incomplete, 1973, Hajee Karutha Rowther Howdia College, Uthamapalayam Madurai University.

At a glance

2026 votes
85,206
in the assembly election
Margin
6,805
votes ahead of runner-up
Constituency
Bodinayakanur
AC 200 · Theni
Party
DMK
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Field size
16
candidates contested
Age
75 yrs
as of 2026
Declared assets
₹12.12 cr
ECI affidavit, 2026
Criminal cases
4 pending
declared in affidavit

Education

Highest qualification12th Pass

ECI affidavit (2026)

4 pending criminal cases declared in the 2026 ECI affidavit. Total declared assets: ₹12.12 cr.

ItemValue
Total declared assets₹12.12 cr
Liabilities₹5.41 cr
Source: Election Commission of India affidavit, March 2026 — collated by myneta.info (view live page).

Career timeline

The 2026 win — Bodinayakanur

Panneerselvam O. polled 85,206 votes, defeating Prakash S. (TVK) by a margin of 6,805.

#CandidatePartyVotes
1Panneerselvam O.DMK85,206
2Prakash S.TVK78,401
3Narayanasamy V. T.AIADMK41,286
4Kalaiarasu S.NTK11,455
5NotaNOTA931

→ Full Bodinayakanur (AC 200) seat page · district: Theni

Family

Wife Vijayalakshmi (died of cardiac arrest on 1 September 2021). Three sons including P. Ravindhranath Kumar, former Theni Lok Sabha MP. His mother passed away on 24 February 2023, aged 96. From the Mukkulathor (Thevar) community of Periyakulam.

Party & ideology

OPS spent five decades in the AIADMK as a Jayalalithaa loyalist — three times sworn in as her stand-in Chief Minister (2001, 2014, 2016) — and was the senior face of the AIADMK after her death until the leadership war with EPS ended in his 2022 expulsion. His February 2026 move to the DMK closed a four-year period in the political wilderness; the DMK gave him Bodinayakanur, the seat he had held since 2011, and his 2026 win added a fifth term from the constituency. Caste-arithmetically OPS anchors the Mukkulathor (Thevar) vote in southern Tamil Nadu, a base the DMK has historically struggled to consolidate.

FAQ

Why is OPS contesting on a DMK ticket in 2026?

Panneerselvam was expelled from the AIADMK on 11 July 2022 after a four-year leadership war with Edappadi K. Palaniswami; courts ultimately upheld the expulsion. On 27 February 2026 he resigned his Bodinayakanur Assembly seat and joined the DMK in the presence of CM M. K. Stalin. The DMK fielded him from Bodinayakanur — the seat he had won three times as an AIADMK candidate — and he added a fifth term.

How many times was OPS Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu?

Three times — 21 September 2001 to 2 March 2002 (162 days), 28 September 2014 to 23 May 2015 (237 days), and 6 December 2016 to 15 February 2017 (72 days). Each time he stepped in for Jayalalithaa — the first two during her court-ordered disqualifications and the third after her death.

How many times has OPS won Bodinayakanur?

Five times — 2011, 2016 and 2021 on the AIADMK ticket, and 2026 on the DMK ticket. Combined with one term from Periyakulam (2001), he is now a five-term MLA (2001, 2011, 2016, 2021, 2026 — there was no 2006 win as he did not contest).

What is OPS's caste base?

Mukkulathor (Thevar) community of southern Tamil Nadu, anchored in Theni-Madurai-Ramanathapuram belt. He has long been considered the senior Thevar face of the AIADMK, and his crossover to DMK in 2026 was framed by the DMK as a major caste-arithmetic addition to the SPA.

Sources