The AIADMK seems to have taken a cue from the opposition DMK and the Congress as far as 'dynasty politics' is concerned. And, it is none other than Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam’s son who is all set to get into the election fray.
In a significant move on Monday, as the ruling party began accepting applications from its members willing to contest the Lok Sabha elections, AIADMK coordinator Panneerselvam's son O.P. Raveendranath Kumar sought ticket from Theni and Virudhinagar constituencies. He is said to have filed application at the party headquarters.
“This was apparent when he was offered a party post in June last year,” says a senior AIADMK MP from the OPS faction. Popularly known as Ravi in the party circles, Raveendranath Kumar, sources say, has been working in Theni and Virudhunagar constituencies for the past few months, apparently keeping an eye on the polls.
A graduate in Business Administration, Ravi was once the district secretary of the party’s young men and women’s wing (Illaignar and Ilam pengal paasarai), but was shunted out by then chief minister and party supremo Jayalalithaa for “anti-party activities” in 2016. He was sacked along with the others in his family who were holding posts in the party.
Even though Ravi is said to be the political successor of his father, his younger brother V.P. Jayapradeep, too, is popular among the AIADMK cadres. The two sons enjoy a good rapport with the party workers in their father's fiefdom—Theni and Bodinayakkanur. Cutouts of the siblings are common in the streets of their hometown Periyakulam. Theni being his home constituency and Virudhunagar being an AIADMK bastion, Ravi has chosen to contest from any of the two, say sources. Panneerselvam had won from Periyakulam and Bodi assembly constituencies consecutively since 2001.
Meanwhile, information minister D. Jayakumar's son, Jayavaradhan, an incumbent MP from the South Chennai constituency, is also likely to seek a second term. Highly placed sources in the AIADMK say Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami's son Mithunkumar is also a probable candidate in the Lok Sabha election.
It may be recalled that one of the demands of OPS's Dharma Yudh in 2017 was to save the AIADMK from the clutches of one single family and he achieved it by making the party get rid of the Sasikala clan.
