When O. Panneerselvam became the Chief Minister again on Monday afternoon, he joined a distinguished club of four leaders who were sworn in more than once as Chief Minster of the State after Independence.
The other four were K. Kamaraj, M. Karunanidhi, M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa.
Mr. Paneerselvam held the post for the first time between September 21, 2001 and March 2002 after the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of Ms. Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister in view of her earlier conviction in the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (TANSI) land case.
When she won the by-poll to the Assembly from Andipatti in February 2002, after the Madras High Court acquitted her in both the TANSI land and Pleasant Stay Hotel cases, Mr. Paneerselvam quit the post and became number 2 in her Ministry.
Congress leader Kamaraj (1903-1975) became the Chief Minister for the first time in April 1954. After leading the Congress to victory in the 1957 and 1962 elections, he was sworn in as Chief Minister on two more occasions. He quit the post in October 1963 after holding it for nine years at a stretch.
DMK president M. Karunanidhi was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time on February 10, 1969, a week after the demise of his predecessor and DMK founder C.N. Annadurai.
Two years later, he was re-elected to the post after his party won the elections hands down. In January 1989, Mr. Karunanidhi became the Chief Minister for the third time. In May 1996, he again became the first person to hold the post for the fourth time. Ten years later, Mr. Karunanidhi became Chief Minister for a record fifth time.
AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran was first elected as Chief Minister in June 1977. Three years later, he staged an emphatic comeback after the dismissal of his Ministry in February 1980. MGR became the Chief Minister for the third time in February 1985 and held the post till his death in December 1987.
After securing a huge mandate in the 10 Assembly elections, Ms. Jayalalithaa became the Chief Minister for the first time in June 1991.
Ten years later, she returned to power after her party’s dramatic victory in the 2001 elections. Though her stint in power was initially short-lived, she stormed back to hold the post between March 2002 and May 2006. Five years later, Ms. Jayalailthaa was sworn in as Chief Minister for the fourth time.
V.R. Nedunchezhian, who served as Minister in the governments headed by Mr. Karunanidhi, MGR and Ms. Jayalalithaa, served as officiating Chief Minister twice — in February 1969 after the death of C.N. Annadurai and in December 1987 after the death of MGR.
