Chennai: As former chief minister O Panneerselvam fights the Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate from Ramanathapuram constituency, he is facing a young namesake of his, who too has filed his nomination for the polls from the same constituency as a standalone candidate.
Panneerselvam, who heads the AIADMK Workers Retrieval Organisation and is continuing his legal battle against his expulsion from the party, has aligned with the BJP for the LS polls. The 74-year old leader is pitched against a 42-year old man by the same name, O Panneerselvam, a resident of Usilampatti taluk in Madurai district who too has filed his nomination to contest as an independent candidate from Ramanathapuram constituency.
The former chief minister is 'Ottakara Thevar Panneerselvam', while the younger contestant is 'Ochappan Panneerselvam.' However, only the letter 'O' will be prefixed to their names in the official list of candidates, as is the practice. The photographs of the candidates and the individual symbol allotted to them will help voters differentiate between them.
