Former TN chief minister OPS begins Lok Sabha campaign with temple visit

Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 1 : Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and ousted AIADMK leader Ottakarathevar Panneerselvam on Monday paid a visit to the Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram before he kickstarted his campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Panneerselvam or OPS who is contesting from the Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency in south Tamil Nadu took a holy dip in the 22 holy theerthas in the Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy temple and had a darshan of Swami Ambal. The temple is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites.
OPS, who was ousted from the AIADMK was allotted the 'jackfruit' symbol through a lottery organised at the district collectorate in Ramanathapuram on Saturday. On Sunday, he posed with a 'jackfruit' to officially announce the allotment of the symbol at a public meeting in Thiruvadanai.
OPS is contesting the elections as an independant candidate with support from the BJP-NDA after he lost the case in Madras High Court for retaining the flag and letterhead of the AIADMK.
Interestingly, there are four other candidates by the name of O Panneeerselvan who are in the fray in Ramanathapuram.
OPS had filed his nomination on March 25 and submitted his nomination to Ramanathapuram District Collector P Vishnuchandran.
The Ramanathapuram constituency comprises of six assembly segments -Paramakudi (reserved), Thiruvadanai, Ramanathapuram, Mudukulathur, Aranthangi and Thiruchuli.
There are 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu. The state is voting on April 19 in a single phase of polling.
During the 2019 general elections, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which comprised INC, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, and AIFB, registered a landslide victory by winning 38 of the 39 seats.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases starting April 19.