Raveendranath Kumar – O. Paneerselvam’s son and young political leader of AIADMK

O. P. Raveendranath Kumar, also addressed as Raveendranath Kumar or simply OPR is a young AIADMK leader and parliamentarian from Theni district of Tamil Nadu. He is the son of prominent politician and current deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, O. Paneerselvam. In 2019 general elections, he defeated Congress Leader EVKS Elangovan by a huge margin of 76693 votes to claim Theni constituency and it is his first term as parliamentarian. Interestingly he is the only AIADMK candidate in 2019 general elections to win a seat in parliament this time.

Raveendranath Kumar belongs to a family with strong political background. He was born in 1980. He was serving as Theni District Secretary of Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Peravai of AIADMK, when his name was announced as AIADMK candidate for Theni, earlier held by Parthipan R of same political party. He got elected to Parliament in his late 30s, and thus one of the youngest parliamentarians from Tamil Nadu.

Raveendranath Kumar – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. He was born on an Independence Day.

2. His father O. Paneerselvam has served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu thrice, and also known as staunch loyalist of deceased leader J. Jayalalithaa.

3. In 2014 general elections, AIADMK led by Supremo Jayalalithaa won 38 seats out of 39, while the results reversed in 2019. AIADMK could claim just one seat through Raveendranath Kumar this time.