In 2016, Shanavas stood for his first Tamil Nadu state legislative assembly elections from the
Kunnam constituency. He was the joint candidate of the People's Welfare Front Alliance. He garnered just 19,853 votes and lost the elections to
R. T. Ramachandran (politician) by a huge margin. In 2021, he stood for elections from the
Nagapattinam Assembly constituency as the candidate for
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). He defeated his nearest AIADMK rival with an individual 'pot' symbol as a part of the DMK-led alliance. Currently, he also serves as the Deputy General Secretary of VCK party, a
Dravidian political party for all caste equality. He is a strong follower of Thanthai
Periyar,
Muhammad Ismail and
B.R.Ambedkar. == Activism ==