Selvam Adaikalanathan

{{Short description|Sri Lankan Tamil militant and politician}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}

{{EngvarB|date=August 2020}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = Hon.

| name = Selvam Adaikalanathan

| native_name = {{lang|ta|செல்வம் அடைக்கலநாதன்}}
{{lang|si|සෙල්වම් අඩෛක්කලනාදන්}}

| honorific-suffix = MP

| image = Selvam Adaikalanathan.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Adaikalanathan in August 2015

| office = President of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization

| term_start = 1986

| term_end =

| predecessor = Sri Sabaratnam

| successor =

| office1 = Deputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka

| term_start1 = 1 September 2015

| term_end1 = 2 March 2020

| predecessor1 = Murugesu Chandrakumar

| successor1 = Angajan Ramanathan

| office2 = Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka

| constituency2 = Vanni District

| term_start2 = 2000

| term_end2 =

| predecessor2 =

| successor2 =

| birth_name = Amirthanathan Adaikalanathan

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|06|10|df=y}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| citizenship =

| nationality =

| party = Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization

| otherparty = Tamil National Alliance

| spouse =

| partner =

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater =

| occupation =

| profession =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Amirthanathan Adaikalanathan ({{langx|ta|அமிர்தநாதன் அடைக்கலநாதன்|translit=Amirtanātaṉ Aṭaikkalanātaṉ}}; born 10 June 1962), commonly known as Selvam Adaikalanathan, is a Sri Lankan Tamil militant turned politician and Member of Parliament.{{cite web |title=Directory of Members: Selvam Adaikkalanathan |url=https://www.parliament.lk/en/members-of-parliament/directory-of-members/viewMember/1247 |publisher=Parliament of Sri Lanka |access-date=24 September 2020 |location=Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka}} He was the Deputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from September 2015 to March 2020.{{cite web |title=Handbook of Parliament: Deputy Chairpersons of Committees |url=https://www.parliament.lk/en/deputy-chairpersons-of-committees |publisher=Parliament of Sri Lanka |access-date=24 September 2020 |location=Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka}} He is the leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization, a member of the Tamil National Alliance.

Early life

Adaikalanathan was born 10 June 1962. He hails from Mannar in northern Sri Lanka.{{cite magazine |title=We are on the correct path' |access-date=24 September 2020 |magazine=Frontline |date=9 October 2004 |volume=21 |issue=21 |url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2121/stories/20041022000905200.htm |location=Chennai, India}} 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. 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.

Political career

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.{{cite book |last1=de Silva |first1=W. P. P. |last2=Ferdinando |first2=T. C. L. |title=9th Parliament of Sri Lanka |publisher=Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited |location=Colombo Sri Lanka |page=184 |url=http://noolaham.net/project/148/14715/14715.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623233447/http://noolaham.net/project/148/14715/14715.pdf |archive-date=23 June 2015}}{{cite web |title=Results of Parliamentary General Election – 1989 |url=https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/parliamentary-elections/general-election-1989.pdf |publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka |access-date=18 September 2020 |location=Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka |page=33}} 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.{{cite web |title=Parliamentary General Election - 2000 - Preferences |url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/preference2000GE.PDF |publisher=Department of Elections |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304015333/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/preference2000GE.PDF |archive-date=4 March 2010 |location=Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka |page=5}}

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).{{cite news |last1=Jeyaraj |first1=D. B. S. |author-link1= |title=Tamil National Alliance enters critical third phase – 1 |url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/opinion1/6933.html |work=The Daily Mirror |date=27 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404042520/http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/opinion1/6933.html |archive-date=4 April 2010 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}{{cite news |title=Tamil parties sign MOU |url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=6400 |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=TamilNet |date=20 October 2001}} Adaikalanathan contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Vanni District and was re-elected to Parliament.{{cite web |title=Parliamentary General Election - 2001 - Preferences |url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/preference2001GE.pdf |publisher=Department of Elections |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304015155/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/preference2001GE.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2010 |location=Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka |page=5}} He was re-elected at the 2004, 2010 and 2015 parliamentary elections.{{cite web |title=Parliamentary General Election - 2004 - Preferences |url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Preference2004GE.pdf |publisher=Department of Elections |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304015514/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Preference2004GE.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2010 |location=Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka |page=199}}{{cite magazine |title=Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - The Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981 |magazine=The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary |date=12 April 2010 |issue=1649/2 |page=4A |url=http://www.documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2010/4/1649-02_E.pdf |access-date=25 April 2010 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}{{cite news |title=General Elections 2010 -- Preferential Votes |url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100411/News/page1.pdf |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=The Sunday Times |date=11 April 2010 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}{{cite magazine |title=Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - The Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981 |magazine=The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary |date=19 August 2015 |issue=1928/3 |page=5A |url=http://www.documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2015/8/1928-03_E.pdf |access-date=20 August 2015 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}{{cite news |title=Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo |url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/83949/ranil-tops-with-over-500-000-votes-in-colombo |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=The Daily Mirror |date=19 August 2015 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}} He was elected Deputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka when the new parliament met on 1 September 2015.{{cite news |title=Thilanga appointed Deputy Speaker |url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/85591/thilanga-appointed-deputy-speaker |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=The Daily Mirror |date=1 September 2015 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}{{cite news |title=Thilanga appointed Deputy Speaker |url=http://www.ceylontoday.lk/16-102533-news-detail-thilanga-appointed-deputy-speaker.html |work=Ceylon Today |date=1 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923202034/http://www.ceylontoday.lk/16-102533-news-detail-thilanga-appointed-deputy-speaker.html |archive-date=23 September 2015 |location=Colombo. Sri Lanka}}

Adaikalanathan was re-elected at the 2020 parliamentary election.{{cite magazine |title=Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981 |magazine=The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary |date=8 August 2020 |issue=2187/26 |page=5A |url=http://www.documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2020/8/2187-26_E.pdf |access-date=9 August 2020 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}{{cite news |title=General Election 2020: Preferential votes of Vanni District |url=https://ceylontoday.lk/news/general-election-2020-preferential-votes-of-vanni-district |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=Ceylon Today |date=7 August 2020 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}{{cite news |last1=Jeyaraj |first1=D. B. S. |author-link1= |title=TNA suffers electoral setback in North and East polls |url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/TNA-suffers-electoral-setback-in-North-and-East-polls/172-193440 |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=The Daily Mirror |date=8 August 2020 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}

Electoral history

class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"

|+ Electoral history of Selvam Adaikalanathan

! scope=col|Election

! scope=col|Constituency

! scope=col colspan="2"|Party

! scope=col colspan="2"|Alliance

! scope=col|Votes

! scope=col|Result

1989 parliamentaryVanni Districtstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization}};"|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organizationstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil United Liberation Front}};"|ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULFalign=right|{{Nts|5771}}Not elected
2000 parliamentaryVanni Districtstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization}};"|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organizationalign=right|{{Nts|15490}}Elected
2001 parliamentaryVanni Districtstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization}};"|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organizationstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil National Alliance}};"|Tamil National Alliancealign=right|{{Nts|28548}}Elected
2004 parliamentaryVanni Districtstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization}};"|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organizationstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil National Alliance}};"|Tamil National Alliancealign=right|{{Nts|39535}}Elected
2010 parliamentary{{cite web |title=Parliamentary General Election - 2010 - Vanni Preferences |url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/GE2010_preferences/Vanni_pref_GE2010.pdf |publisher=Department of Elections |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513035435/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/GE2010_preferences/Vanni_pref_GE2010.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2010 |location=Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka}}Vanni Districtstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization}};"|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organizationstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil National Alliance}};"|Tamil National Alliancealign=right|{{Nts|17366}}Elected
2015 parliamentary{{cite news |last=Jayakody |first=Pradeep |title=The Comparison of Preferential Votes in 2015 & 2010 |url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/85309/the-comparison-of-preferential-votes-in-2015-2010 |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=The Daily Mirror |date=28 August 2015 |location=Colombo, Sri Lanka}}Vanni Districtstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization}};"|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organizationstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil National Alliance}};"|Tamil National Alliancealign=right|{{Nts|26397}}Elected
2020 parliamentary{{cite news |title=General Election Preferential Votes |url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2020/08/08/political/225317/general-election-preferential-votes |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=Daily News |date=8 August 2020 |location=Colombo Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka |page=2}}Vanni Districtstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization}};"|Tamil Eelam Liberation Organizationstyle="background:{{party color|Tamil National Alliance}};"|Tamil National Alliancealign=right|{{Nts|18563}}Elected

References