Edappadi Karuppa Palaniswami (born 12 May 1954), often referred to by his initials E.P.S., is an Indian politician who is the current

leader of opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members of whom are democratically elected using the First-past-the-post voting, First-past-the-post system. The pres ...

. He served as the

seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

chief minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

, from 2017 to 2021. He has been the

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK) is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is a Dravidian party founded by the former chief mini ...

(AIADMK) since 28 March 2023. Previously, Palaniswami has served as the interim general secretary (2022–23), joint co-ordinator (2017–22) and headquarters secretary (2016–22) of AIADMK. Born in 1954 in

Salem district Salem District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district is now divided into Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Namakkal as individual districts. Salem is the district headquarters and other major towns in the distri ...

in the erstwhile

Madras State Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and c ...

, Palaniswami became an

agriculturalist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...

before entering into politics in 1974. Palaniswami has represented

Edappadi Edappadi (also spelt Edappadi or Idappadi) is a municipality in Salem district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Edappadi was once known for its thriving power loom industry. The economy is diversified by agriculture, heavy truck transport, g ...

since 2011 as

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

, previously also serving from 1989 to 1996. In the

1998 Indian general election General elections were held in India on 16, 22 and 28 February 1998 to elect the members of the 12th Lok Sabha. The elections were held three years ahead of schedule after the government led by Inder Kumar Gujral collapsed when the Indian Nati ...

he was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

representing

Tiruchengode Tiruchengode is a city and selection grade municipality located in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for the ancient hilltop Ardhanareeswarar temple, Tiruchengode, temple of Umaiorubagan (Arthanāreeshwara), dedicated to the uniq ...

. Post the 2011 assembly elections, he served as the minister of highways and minor ports in the Jayalalithaa cabinet. After 2016 assembly elections, he also served as the

ministry of public works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Early and personal life

Palaniswami was born on 12 May 1954 to Karuppa Gounder and Thavasiyammal at Siluvampalayam,

(now

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

). After completing school, he completed

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from Sri Vasavi College. His parents were involved in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and Palaniswami also chose to get involved in the same. He has two siblings, a brother Govindraj and a sister Ranjitham. He is married to Ratha and they have a son.

Political career

Early years (1974-2010)

Palaniswami entered politics in 1974 enrolling himself as a volunteer in

(AIADMK). He was first elected to the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, representing

constituency, and won the re-election in 1991 from the same constituency. He lost from the same constituency in the 1996 assembly elections. In the 1998 general election, he was elected

, representing Tiruchengodu constituency in the

12th Lok Sabha This is the list of members of the 12th Lok Sabha, (10 March 1998 – 26 April 1999) after the 1998 Indian general election held during February–March 1998. This was the second consecutive Lok Sabha, like the 11th Lok Sabha elections that d ...

. He subsequently lost the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and 2004 general elections from the same constituency. He contested from Edappadi again in the 2006 assembly elections and lost. He was appointed propaganda secretary of AIADMK in July 2006 and later as organising secretary in 2007.

Cabinet minister (2011-17)

He was re-elected from Edappadi constituency in the 2011 assembly election. He was appointed as the minister of highways and minor ports in the Jayalalithaa cabinet. He served as the district secretary of AIADMK for

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

suburban district from June 2011 to April 2022. In 2014, he was appointed as the member of the disciplinary committee of AIADMK. He was again re-elected from the same constituency in the 2016 assembly election. After 2016 assembly elections, he also served as the

in the

. In 2016, he was appointed headquarters secretary of AIADMK, succeeding P. Palaniappan.

Chief minister (2017-21)

Palaniswami became the

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

in February 2017, following the resignation of

O. Panneerselvam Ottakarathevar Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS (born 14 January 1951) is an Indian politician who served as the .Coordinator of AIADMK 6th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 6 December 2016 to 15 February 2017 and as the 2nd Deputy Chief ...

, who was the chief minister in the interim after the demise of former chief minister

J. Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

in December 2016. He was sworn in on 16 February 2017 along with a 32-member cabinet and also held charge of home, prohibition and excise. In March 2017, he introduced the Kudimaramaththu scheme for restoring minor irrigation

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

s and

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s in the state. In May 2018, police opened fire on protests against a copper plant owned by

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

that was allegedly polluting groundwater in

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...

, killing 13 people. While the act was later termed as "self-defence" by a one-man commission, the Government of Tamil Nadu ordered the permanent closure of the plant on 28 May 2018. In August 2019, Palaniswami introduced dedicated patrol vehicles (''Amma patrol'') to ascertain the security of women and children in public places. In the

2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...

, AIADMK under the leadership of Palaniswami, contested in alliance with the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

and won only a single seat. In 2019, Palaniswami launched the ''Yaadhum Oore'' programme aimed at garnering foreign investment in the state. He visited

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

to promote the same. In February 2020, the Government of Tamil Nadu declared the Kaveri delta region as a protected special agriculture zone. In May 2020, the government passed an order for reservation of 7.5% of seats in government medical colleges to students from public schools while also announcing a plan to set up eleven new government medical colleges with 1,650 seats. Under his governance, Tamil Nadu was rated amongst the top states based on a composite index in the context of sustainable development according to the Public Affairs Index released by the Public Affairs Center in October 2020. During the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, Tamil Nadu was one of the few states that did not register negative growth. Tamil Nadu was ranked as the best performing big state from the year 2018 to 2021 based on a study conducted by

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...

Leader of the opposition (2021–present)

AIADMK lost the 2021 assembly elections and Palaniswami resigned as the chief-minister on 6 May 2021. He won for the third consecutive time from the Edappadi constituency and was elected as the

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. In June 2022, district secretaries and senior party members of AIADMK spoke out against the “dual leadership” system of Palaniswami and

. The supporters of Palaniswami pushed for the change in the party's leadership structure to appoint him as the general secretary of AIADIMK ahead of the general council meeting on 23 June 2022, which was expected to elect the leadership of the party. In June 2022, Palaniswami wrote to Panneerselvam asserting the latter ceased to be the party coordinator as the amendments made to the party's bylaw in the 2021 December executive committee meeting were not recognised in the general council meeting held on 23 June. On 11 July 2022, the general council of AIADMK abolished the dual leadership model, appointing Palaniswami as the interim chief and expelled Panneerselvam and his loyalists from the primary memberships of the party for "anti-party" activities. While on 17 August, the

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

nullified the decisions of the AIADMK general council and ordered maintaining a status quo, a

division bench A Division Bench is a term in judicial system in India in which a case is heard and judged by ''at least'' 2 judges. However, if the bench during the hearing of any matter feels that the matter needs to be considered by a larger bench, such a ...

later upheld the decisions and set aside the previous court order on 2 September 2022. On 23 February 2023, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

upheld the later order of the Madras High Court, effectively handing the leadership of the party to Palaniswami. On 28 March 2023, AIADMK announced that Palaniswami was elected as the general secretary through party's general secretary election. On 20 April 2023, the

Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body. It was established by the Constitution of India to conduct and regulate elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, di ...

recognised Palaniswami as the general secretary, acknowledging the amendments to the party constitution and changes to list of office-bearers. On 20 August 2023, a conference was held at

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

led by Palaniswami as a part of the

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

celebrations of the founding of AIADMK. On 25 September 2023, Palaniswami led AIADMK officially left the

National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing and Conservatism, conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was foun ...

ahead of the

2024 Indian general election General elections are expected to be held in India between April and May 2024 to elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Background The tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha is scheduled to end on 16 June 2024. The previous general elections were held ...

. In the aftermath of the 2023 Chennai floods, Palaniswami demanded the chief minister of Tamil Nadu to release a

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

on the completed and ongoing

stormwater drain A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surfaces ...

work in Chennai and further criticised the state government for the lack of preparedness. In the 2024 general election, Palaniswami led AIADMK formed an

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

with

Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (; DMDK) is an Indian regional political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is a Dravidian party founded by the former leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Vijayakant (Captain ...

Puthiya Tamilagam Puthiya Tamilagam is a caste political party based in Tamil Nadu, India. Elections The PT contested the 1999 Lok Sabha elections and ten seats in the 2001 state assembly elections, the latter in alliance with the DMK. It won no seats in either ...

, and Social Democratic Party of India and contested 36 seats in the state of Tamil Nadu and one eac in the union territories of

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry tal ...

and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The party-led alliance failed to win any seats in the elections.

Election results

General elections

Tamil Nadu Legislative elections

Awards and honours

Palaniswami was awarded a

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

by Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute in 2019. He was announced as a

Paul Harris Fellow Paul Percy Harris (April 19, 1868 – January 27, 1947) was a Chicago, Illinois, attorney. He founded the club that became the humanitarian organisation Rotary International in 1905. Personal life Harris was born in Racine, Wisconsin, to Ge ...

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

in July 2020.

References

External links

Official Biographical Sketch in Lok Sabha Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palaniswami, Edappadi K. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians Chief ministers from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Living people 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Indian Tamil politicians State cabinet ministers of Tamil Nadu People from Salem district Tamil Nadu MLAs 2011–2016 Tamil Nadu MLAs 2016–2021 1954 births Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu India MPs 1998–1999 Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu MLAs 1991–1996 Tamil Nadu MLAs 2021–2026