Newsmaker: O Panneerselvam

CM Jayalalithaa's trusted lieutenant

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief's tried and trusted political lieutenant is O Panneerselvam, current finance minister of Tamil Nadu. He was officially the chief minister (CM) after Jayalalithaa was convicted in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets corruption case by a Bengaluru court.

This was the second time he'd formally stepped into her shoes. She chose him in 2001 as her replacement when she had to step down as CM because of a land scam conviction. He was in the chair from September 21, 2001, to March 1, 2002. The second time, he stepped back in May 2015, when she was acquitted by the Karnataka high vourt in the disproportionate assets case.

Born in 1951 at Periyakulam, Theni district, Panneerselvam has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and his occupation is listed as 'agriculture'. He is married and has three children.

He chaired the Periyakulam municipality between 1996 and 2001, after which he became revenue minister. After resigning as CM in March 2001, he was minister for public works, prohibition and excise till 2006.

During the next regime, when the AIADMK rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ruled (2006-2011), he was leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly. When the AIADMK came back to power in 2011, elected from Bodinayakanur of Theni district, he became minister for finance and public works, keeping the position along with being CM after Jaya was convicted in September 2014. During his tenure as CM, he did not use her office. He, along with all his 29 ministers, never hesitated to attribute all the good deeds and decisions of the government to Jayalalithaa, whom the party men refer to as Amma (mother). In almost all the public functions and in the Legislative Assembly and even in Parliament, the AIADMK members start any speech by praising the guidance of Amma and taking her blessings.