Once Jayalalithaa's trusted lieutenant, OPS joins DMK

CHENNAI: (Feb 27) Three-time AIADMK Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who held top party positions before his expulsion in 2022, on Friday joined the DMK in the presence of its president and Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin in what is seen as a shot in the arm for the ruling party ahead of the elections.

A trusted confidant of late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, Ottakara Thevar Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS, joined arch rival DMK, after unsuccessfully struggling for over three years to rejoin his parent outfit.

"Are you not embarrassed," asked the AIADMK, highlighting OPS's meteoric rise in the party and underscored that he had even been the official signing authority to endorse the candidature of party nominees in elections.