Tamil Nadu's go-to stopgap chief minister, O Panneerselvam is now deputy CM

With the much speculated AIADMK merger finally being announced, O Paneerselvam has been sworn in as the new Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with Edapaddi Palaniswami staying on as Chief Minister.

Born on July 14, 1951, Panneerselvam was a close aide of Jayalalithaa and is one of the founding members of the AIADMK. He began his political career as a party worker in DMK in 1969. Paneerselvam was one of the initial league of leaders who shaped AIADMK after MG Ramachandran split from the DMK in 1973.

He served as stop-gap Chief Minister on three occasions in Jayalalithaa's absence.

His first stint as the Chief Minister began in September 2001 when Jayalalithaa was barred from holding office as Chief Minister by the Supreme Court as she was found guilty in a disproportionate asset case. His term lasted for a period of six months before Jayalalithaa returned as the CM when the apex court reversed her conviction in September that year.

In 2014, he took charge as the Chief Minister yet again as Jayalalithaa was convicted again in the same case. After assuming charge in September 2014, he stepped down in May 2015 to let her take office again after the Supreme Court acquitted her of the charges.

The third time Paneerselvam took reins of the Chief Ministerial post was after Jayalalithaa's demise — an event that left Tamil Nadu in a political turmoil. AIADMK appointed him as the Chief Minister and he took charge on December 6, 2016.

But in February 2017, Paneerselvam resigned yet again citing "personal reasons" after the AIADMK chose VK Sasikala as the party president. After submitting his resignation to the Tamil Nadu Governor, he told the media that he was "forced to resign" from the post, resulting in a split in the AIADMK ranks.

Paneerselvam has also held crucial ministerial positions in earlier Jayalalithaa governments in Tamil Nadu. He was the Minister for Public Works, Prohibition and Excise from 2002-2003 and Finance Minister in the state cabinet from 2011-2014.

When AIADMK lost the elections in 2006, Paneerselvam was made the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. However, that lasted for only two weeks after which Jayalalithaa took over.