C. V. Shanmugam

C.​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ V. Shanmugam is originally from Tindivanam, Viluppuram district, Tamil Nadu. His father, C. Venugopal, was an MP of Vandavasi. After getting his Bachelor of Laws degree, he worked as an advocate, but later on, he left everything and became a full-time politician. Eventually, his legal background helped him a lot when he assumed the roles of a lawmaker and a minister.

His first political endeavor was Shanmugam contesting the TN legislative assembly elections from Tindivanam. He lost the election, which took place in 1996, but he prevailed in the Tindivanam assembly elections in 2001 and 2006, respectively. Later on, he moved to the Villupuram constituency from where he was elected in 2011 and 2016. During the period during which he served as an MLA, he had a strong focus on the local development and issues of his constituency, through which he made his name in regional politics.

In 2002, he became part of the state cabinet as a minister for education in the Tamil Nadu government. He was once again given some ministerial responsibilities in 2011 when he became the Minister for School Education. He was also appointed to the posts of Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration, and Minister for Law, Courts and Prisons in 2016. In the following year, he was additionally entrusted with the office of the Minister for Mines and Minerals. With these appointments, he has extended his leadership skills to various legal, regulatory, and economic domains.

One year later, Shanmugam was selected as a representative of Tamil Nadu to the Rajya Sabha. Besides that, he is actively debating the bills in the upper house and is a member of various committees. As of 2025, he is still carrying out his duties as AIADMK party leader, and he will continue his legislative and party-related work nonetheless. ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌