Loyalty to the party and its supremo rewarded this veteran finally. After more than four decades into politics, the man was finally awarded with a ministerial position.
C Sreenivasan’s late ascent is related to the late CM J Jayalalithaa’s attempt to bring back the old coterie. Sreenivasan who joined the party in 1972 as a lower-level cadre soon rose through the ranks by virtue of his active field work. This coincided with the party’s win in the 1973 assembly polls.
A decade-and-a-half after joining the AIADMK, he became the district secretary in 1987. Two years later, he was offered a chance to contest the ninth Lok Sabha polls. Caught in a fix after the demise of party founder MGR during when party split into two, Sreenivasan sided with the Jayalalithaa camp, which eventually turned prevalent.
The party leadership nominating him as their MP candidate for the next four terms of which he won thrice. Serving as the Minister of Forests, he is among the top three in the party ranks.