VILLUPURAM: For the third consecutive time, AIADMK district secretary and senior member of the election advisory board of the party CV Shanmugam will be facing the polls in Villupuram constituency. Hailing from Mailam block, Shanmugam entered politics in the late nineties. Shanmugam is a law graduate. He faced his first elections against DMK’s senior leader K Ponmudi in the latter’s home turf in 1996 and lost.
Subsequently he won the elections as legislative member for Tindivanam constituency in 2001 and 2006. Once again in 2011, Ponmudi and Shanmugam clashed at the ballots. Only this time, Shanmugam had a sweeping victory that reflected in the 2016 elections as well, making Villupuram district as CVe’s bastion, as party cadres term it.
Cadres of AIADMK welcomed the move by the party HQ by bursting crackers and distributing sweets to the public shortly after the announcement was made on Friday. The former law, prisons, courts, mines and mineral minister has not one but many accolades from public for his prompt delivery of government schemes to the people of Villupuram.
Shanmugam brought a women’s arts college, a law college, new court to Tindivanam, revamp and extension of Villupuram district court, development of Veedur dam, inaugurated the century old Nandan canal restoration works and built several check dams to add to his credit of service to the people. However, incidents like Thalavanur check dam damage, delayed release of crop failure funds, and delayed action in sugarcane farmers’ grievance pose challenges.