The stalwart from Coimbatore is a story of rising through loyalty. Hailing from Sugunapuram in Kuniyamuthur, S P Velumani, 47, has been a member of AIADMK for over two decades. His political career began when he became the Kuniamuthur Municipality Chairman in 2001.
In 2006, after completing his term as the municipal chairman, Velumani, a Gounder from the community’s stronghold in the west, was given an Assembly ticket, which he won from the Perur constituency. In 2011 elections, he contested from the Thondamuthur constituency and won by a margin of over 50,000 votes.
When Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the CM on May 15, 2011, Velumani was given the portfolio of Special Programme Implementation, the newly-formed department to look after important welfare schemes such as free laptop, free mixie, grinder and fan to the public. A month later, he was made the industries minister.