Amirthanathan Adaikalanathan (Tamil: அமிர்தநாதன் அடைக்கலநாதன், romanized: Amirtanātaṉ Aṭaikkalanātaṉ; born 10 June 1962), commonly known as Selvam Adaikalanathan, is a Sri Lankan Tamil militant turned politician and Member of Parliament.[1] He was the Deputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from September 2015 to March 2020.[2] He is the leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization, a member of the Tamil National Alliance.

Selvam Adaikalanathan
செல்வம் அடைக்கலநாதன்
සෙල්වම් අඩෛක්කලනාදන්
Adaikalanathan in August 2015
President of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
Assumed office
1986
Preceded bySri Sabaratnam
Deputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
In office
1 September 2015 – 2 March 2020
Preceded byMurugesu Chandrakumar
Succeeded byAngajan Ramanathan
Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
Assumed office
2000
ConstituencyVanni District
Personal details
Born
Amirthanathan Adaikalanathan

(1962-06-10) 10 June 1962 (age 62)
Political partyTamil Eelam Liberation Organization
Other political
affiliations
Tamil National Alliance

Early life

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Adaikalanathan was born 10 June 1962.[1] He hails from Mannar in northern Sri Lanka.[3] At the age of 15 he joined the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), a Tamil militant group fighting for an independent state of Tamil Eelam in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.[3] He took on the nom de guerre Selvam'. Adaikalanathan took on the leadership/presidency of TELO following the killing of Sri Sabaratnam by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on 5 May 1986.[3]

Political career

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Adaikalanathan contested the 1989 parliamentary election as a ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULF electoral alliance candidate in Vanni District but failed to get elected after coming 3rd amongst the alliance candidates.[4][5] He contested the 2000 parliamentary election as one of the TELO's candidates in Vanni District and was elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.[6]

On 20 October 2001 the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, TELO and Tamil United Liberation Front formed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).[7][8] Adaikalanathan contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Vanni District and was re-elected to Parliament.[9] He was re-elected at the 2004, 2010 and 2015 parliamentary elections.[10][11][12][13][14] He was elected Deputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka when the new parliament met on 1 September 2015.[15][16]

Adaikalanathan was re-elected at the 2020 parliamentary election.[17][18][19]

Electoral history

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Electoral history of Selvam Adaikalanathan
Election Constituency Party Alliance Votes Result
1989 parliamentary[4] Vanni District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULF 5,771 Not elected
2000 parliamentary[6] Vanni District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization 15,490 Elected
2001 parliamentary[9] Vanni District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Tamil National Alliance 28,548 Elected
2004 parliamentary[10] Vanni District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Tamil National Alliance 39,535 Elected
2010 parliamentary[20] Vanni District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Tamil National Alliance 17,366 Elected
2015 parliamentary[21] Vanni District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Tamil National Alliance 26,397 Elected
2020 parliamentary[22] Vanni District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Tamil National Alliance 18,563 Elected

References

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  1. ^ a b "Directory of Members: Selvam Adaikkalanathan". Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka: Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Handbook of Parliament: Deputy Chairpersons of Committees". Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka: Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "We are on the correct path'". Frontline. Vol. 21, no. 21. Chennai, India. 9 October 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b de Silva, W. P. P.; Ferdinando, T. C. L. 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka (PDF). Colombo Sri Lanka: Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. p. 184. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 1989" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Election Commission of Sri Lanka. p. 33. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Parliamentary General Election - 2000 - Preferences" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
  7. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (27 March 2010). "Tamil National Alliance enters critical third phase – 1". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
  8. ^ "Tamil parties sign MOU". TamilNet. 20 October 2001. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Parliamentary General Election - 2001 - Preferences" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
  10. ^ a b "Parliamentary General Election - 2004 - Preferences" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 199. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
  11. ^ "Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - The Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 1649/2. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 12 April 2010. p. 4A. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  12. ^ "General Elections 2010 -- Preferential Votes" (PDF). The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - The Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 1928/3. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 19 August 2015. p. 5A. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Thilanga appointed Deputy Speaker". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Thilanga appointed Deputy Speaker". Ceylon Today. Colombo. Sri Lanka. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 2187/26. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 8 August 2020. p. 5A. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  18. ^ "General Election 2020: Preferential votes of Vanni District". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  19. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (8 August 2020). "TNA suffers electoral setback in North and East polls". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Parliamentary General Election - 2010 - Vanni Preferences" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2010.
  21. ^ Jayakody, Pradeep (28 August 2015). "The Comparison of Preferential Votes in 2015 & 2010". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  22. ^ "General Election Preferential Votes". Daily News. Colombo Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka. 8 August 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 25 September 2020.