A. C. Shanmugam is the founder and president of the New Justice Party, a political party of Tamil Nadu, India. 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, when in 1984, he won the Parliament Election with 52.93% of votes for AIADMK. 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.