VILLUPURAM: Senior AIADMK leader and Rajya Sabha MP C Ve Shanmugam has decided to contest from Mailam constituency in the upcoming election, following his defeat in the last election from the Villupuram constituency where he had contested thrice since 2011.
Party sources said Shanmugam is banking on support from the strong presence of the Vanniyar community. “He belongs to the same community and with the PMK in alliance, he is confident of securing the community’s full backing,” one source said.
Shanmugam, son of former Vandavasi Lok Sabha MP C Venugopal, entered electoral politics in 2001 by winning from Tindivanam. Late AIADMK supremo and then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa rewarded him by making him a minister in 2002.
Though he won the next election in 2006 as well from Tindivanam, the constituency got reserved for Scheduled Castes in the 2009 delimitation exercise, causing him to shift to Villupuram in 2011.
A senior AIADMK functionary from Villupuram said, “In 2011, he had sought a ticket for Mailam. But Amma (Jayalalithaa) fielded him in Villupuram to take on Ponmudy, who had made the constituency his stronghold.” He added that although Shanmugam defeated Ponmudy and became a minister again in 2011, he lost his ministerial berth in 2012.
The district secretary post and the Rajya Sabha opportunity later went to R Latchumanan, who had the backing of expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, according to the senior functionary. “That was also a reason Shanmugam strongly opposed Sasikala and her family members, when party decided to expel them after Jayalalithaa’s death,” he added.
In 2016, with Ponmudy shifting to Tirukoyilur, Shanmugam won again from Villupuram although his vote share came down with the PMK and DMDK eating into his vote share. He saw a major setback in 2021 as his rival Latchumanan, who had joined DMK ahead of the polls, defeated him.