On Sunday, O Panneerselvam, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and an expelled leader of AIADMK, received the ‘jackfruit’ symbol for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the Ramanathapuram constituency. The District Collectorate in Ramanathapuram held a lottery on Saturday to allot the symbol.

On Sunday, Panneerselvam, who contested as an independent candidate, proudly displayed the ‘jackfruit’ symbol at a public meeting in Thiruvadanai to formally announce the allotment.

Panicked over the Madras High Court verdict, OPS joined the BJP and is now contesting as an independent.

After a draw at the district collectorate on Saturday, Panneerselvam’s electoral battle against four other candidates bearing his name in Ramanathapuram gained the symbol of ‘jackfruit’.

MP Ravindjson, Senkai Rajan, the Union Secretary of Thiruvadanai, and other important members of the BJP and Alliance parties attended the function.

Substantially increasing his intentions to contest as an independent candidate, Panneerselvam filed his nomination with Ramanathapuram District Collector P. Vishnu Chandran on Monday, March 18. Tamil Nadu has 39 constituencies in the Lok Sabha, and all of these will go to the polls in one phase on April 19. In the general elections of 2019, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance had an upper edge across 38 of the 39 constituencies.