A.C. Shanmugham

A. C. Shanmugam
A. C. Shanmugam giving a speech
Member of parliament for Vellore (Lok Sabha constituency)
In office
1984–1989
Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi
Preceded byA.K.A. Abdul Samad
Succeeded byA.K.A. Abdul Samad
Founder & Chancellor of Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute
Assumed office
1991
Founder and leader of Puthiya Needhi Katchi
Assumed office
2001
Founder & Chancellor of Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute and ACS Group of Institutions
Personal details
BornArani, Tamil Nadu, India
ChildrenA.C.S. Arun Kumar
OccupationLeader of Puthiya Needhi Katchi (New Justice Party)

A. C. Shanmugam is the founder and president of the New Justice Party, a political party of Tamil Nadu, India.[1][2][3]

A C Shanmugam was born in a Tuluva Vellala (Agamudaya Mudaliar) family. He began his political career as an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) politician,[4] when in 1984, he won the Parliament Election with 52.93% of votes for AIADMK.[5] Subsequently, he held the posts of MP and Member of the Legislative Assembly, before founding the New Justice Party. In 2014, as a BJP candidate, he came runner-up when he contested elections in Vellore Lok Sabha. Later, he returned to AIADMK.[4][6]

He stood from the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 on a Pudhiya Needhi Katchi ticket. He is also the founder and chancellor of Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Rajarajeswari Group of Institutions, and ACS group of institutions in Arani.[7] He works for the upliftment of Mudaliyars. He is ardent fan of M. G. Ramachandran. Er. A.C.S. Arunkumar, son of Dr. Shanmugam is the youngest Pro Chancellor of the Deemed University. Life Member - Indian Society for Technical Education

Needhi Katchi

Needhi Katchi, formerly Puthiya Needhi Katchi (translation: New Justice Party), is a political party in Tamil Nadu, headed by A.C. Shanmugam, a former AIADMK member. The party was started just before the 2001 Tamil Nadu assembly election. The leader of the party claims to represent Mudaliars and Pillaimars castes significantly present from all over Tamilnadu. In September 2009, the party renamed itself as Needhi Katchi by dropping the pudhiya (lit. new) prefix.[8]

As of 2022, the party is still led by A. C. Shanmugam, and continues to ally with larger parties.[9]

References

  1. ^ "AIADMK announces candidates for Rajya Sabha polls". @businessline. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. ^ Vasudevan, Lokpria (18 July 2019). "Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam to not contest Vellore polls". India Today. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  3. ^ A. K. J. Wyatt (2002). "New Alignments in South Indian politics: The 2001 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Asian Survey. 42 (5): 743–744. doi:10.1525/as.2002.42.5.733. hdl:1983/1811. JSTOR 3038896.
  4. ^ a b Sivakumar, R (26 July 2019). "'Vellore different from rest of Tamil Nadu'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Vellore Lok Sabha Election Result - Parliamentary Constituency". resultuniversity.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  6. ^ Hariss, John (2005). "Whatever happened to cultural nationalism in Tamil Nadu? A reading of current events and the recent literature on Tamil politics". In Wyatt, Andrew; Zavos, John (eds.). Decentring the Indian Nation. Routledge. p. 103. ISBN 07146-5387X.
  7. ^ Demu, Blessey. "Honorary Fellowship for A C Shanmugam". news18.com. News18. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Puthiya Needhi Katchi gets a makeover". Indian Express. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  9. ^ Daily, Keralakaumudi (8 February 2020). "Rajinikanth to announce party soon, aim to evict a single party from TN". Keralakaumudi Daily.

Further reading