| Honorific-Prefix: | Hon. |
| P. Chandrasekaran | |
| Constituency Mp1: | Nuwara Eliya |
| Parliament1: | Sri Lanka |
| Term Start1: | 1994 |
| Term End1: | 2010 |
| Successor1: | Santhanam Arulsamy |
| Office2: | Member of the Central Provincial Council |
| Term Start2: | 1993 |
| Term End2: | 1994 |
| Birth Date: | 17 April 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Talawakelle, Ceylon |
| Death Place: | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Party: | Up-Country People's Front |
| Otherparty: | United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Children: | Anusha Chandrasekaran |
| Occupation: | Trade unionist |
Periyasamy Chandrasekaran (Tamil: பெரியசாமி சந்திரசேகரன்; 17 April 1957 - 1 January 2010) was a Sri Lankan trade unionist, politician and government minister.
Chandrasekaran was born on 17 April 1957 in Talawakelle in central Ceylon.[1] [2] He was educated at Sumana Demala Maha Vidyalayam, Talawakelle, St. Patrick's Vidyalayam, Talawakelle and Highlands College, Hatton.[2] [3] [4] Following the death of his father he gave up his education to support his family.[5]
Chandrasekaran was married Shanthini Devi.[4] They had two daughters.[4]
Chandrasekaran became interested in politics at a young age and wrote articles in Tamil newspapers.[2] He joined the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC), becoming its vice-president in 1977.[3] [5] He was elected to the Talawakele Lindula Urban Council in 1982, Nuwara Eliya District Development Council in 1985 and Nuwara Eliya Divisional Council in 1987.[1] [3] He left the CWC in 1989 and formed the Up-Country People's Front (UCPF).[3] [5]
Chandrasekaran was one of the Democratic People's Liberation Front's (DPLF) candidates in Nuwara Eliya District at the 1989 parliamentary election but the DPLF failed to win any seats in Parliament.[6] [7] He was arrested in 1990.[1] The draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act was used to arrest him 1993.[2] He was elected to the Central Provincial Council whilst in custody.[1] [3]
Chandrasekaran was one of the UCPF's candidates for Nuwara Eliya District at the 1994 parliamentary election. He was elected and entered Parliament.[8] He was re-elected at the 2000, 2001 and 2004 parliamentary elections.[9] [10] [11]
After being elected to Parliament in 1994 he supported the new People's Alliance government.[1] He held several ministerial appointments thereafter: Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce (1994); Deputy Minister of Estate Housing (1994–99); Project Minister of Estate Infrastructure (2001); Minister of Community Development; Deputy Minister of Irrigation and Water Management (2001–04); and Minister of Community Development and Social Inequity Eradication (2007–10).[2] [3]
Chandrasekaran, who was at his home in Rajagiriya, failed to wake up on the morning of 1 January 2010.[12] He was taken to the private Nawaloka Hospital where he was pronounced dead on admission.[12] [13]
| Constituency | scope=col | Party | scope=col | Alliance | scope=col | Votes | scope=col | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not elected | ||||||||
| 1993 provincial | Elected | |||||||
| Elected | ||||||||
| Elected | ||||||||
| Elected | ||||||||
| Elected |