V. Senthil Balaji Age, Caste, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About V. Senthil Balaji

• V. Senthil Balaji is an Indian politician. He started his political career at the age of 21 and was elected as the councillor of Karur uratchi Onriyam in 1996. Later he retained the post in 2001. The politician represented the Karur Legislative Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu between 2006 and 2016; he represented the Aravakurichi Constituency in Tamil Nadu between 2016 and 2021. In May 2021, Balaji was fielded by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) from the Karur Legislative Assembly constituency and emerged victorious.

• He was a Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party member between 1994 and 1996. Senthil joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1996 and was part of the DMK between 1996 and 2000. In 2000, the politician joined the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and was part of the party till 2017. Balaji rejoined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 2018 in the presence of DMK chief M. K. Stalin.

• He belongs to an agricultural family.

• In 2006, he contested his debut legislative assembly election on a ticket of AIADMK from the Karur Legislative Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu and defeated the DMK’s Vasuki Murugesan by a margin of 5,384 votes.
  

  V. Senthil Balaji during a festival in his hometown

• The politician is an ardent fan of Kabadi, Ko Ko, and Volleyball.

• He retained his seat during the 2011 Tamil Nadu legislative assembly elections; he defeated Indian National Congress’ Jothi Mani. S. by a landslide margin of 44,145 votes.

• In 2015, Balaji was removed from Jayalalithaa’s cabinet as the Transport Minister; he was also axed from AIADMK Karur district secretary. The reasons for his dismissal were not made clear by the party leadership.

• Some reports suggested that the politician was into social service as a student. He reportedly was a member of the National Service Scheme during his high school days. Later, he established the V.Senthilbalaji Foundationss, a Non-Government and Non-Profit making organization which mainly focuses on health, relief of the poor, providing amenities and facilities to physically disabled people, and education. The organization is set up in Karur, Tamil Nadu.
  

  A photograph of V. Senthil Balaji handing over the keys of a vehicle to assist the differently abled people

• He successfully contested in the 2016 Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election from the Aravakurichi Legislative Assembly constituency. He defeated DMK’s K. C. Palanisamy by a margin of 23,661 votes; however, the politician was not made a minister.
  

  V. Senthil Balaji addressing a crowd

• In 2017, after the death of AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa, the politician pledged his allegiance to the V. K. Sasikala-T. T. V. Dhinakaran faction. Some reports suggested that he was a loyal supporter of the Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa.

• On 18 September 2017, 18 MLAs, including Senthil, were disqualified by then-speaker P. Dhanapal for meeting with the then-Governor Banwarilal Purohit to change the chief minister.

• In 2019, V Senthil Balaji won the Aravakurichi assembly seat for the second time in three years, making him the only MLA among the disqualified candidates who emerged victorious once more. What sets him apart is the distinctive achievement of representing two different parties within a single assembly term. Initially elected as an AIADMK candidate in 2016, Balaji later triumphed in the subsequent by-election on a DMK ticket. As a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from the Aravakurichi Assembly constituency in the 2019 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly by-election, Senthil won by a margin of 37,957 votes.

• He defeated AIADMK’s M. R. Vijayabhaskar by a margin of 12,448 votes from the Karur legislative assembly constituency in the 2021 Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election and was made a minister in the newly formed DMK ministry.
  

  V. Senthil Balaji speaking at a rally

• The then Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K. Annamalai, met with the Tamil Nadu governor on 21 May 2021 following the loss of the lives of 23 people due to a hooch tragedy that happened in the state; he demanded the immediate resignation of two ministers from Stalin’s cabinet, including Balaji. The BJP state president alleged that Senthil failed to efficiently curb the illegal trade of alcoholic beverages.

• On 14 June 2023, after raiding the residence of V. Senthil Balaji and other affiliated locations in Chennai and Coimbatore, the Enforcement Directorate officials proceeded to interrogate him regarding the accusations made during his tenure as the transport minister in the AIADMK-led government between 2011 and 2015, before he joined the DMK. As a result of the raid, Balaji was subsequently apprehended on charges of money laundering and escorted for further questioning.

• Later, Senthil underwent a coronary angiogram on 14 June 2023 at the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital, Omandurar Estate, after they identified three blocks in his heart. Some reports indicated that the Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister was advised to undergo bypass surgery soon.
  

  M. K. Stalin meeting V. Senthil Balaji at the hospital

• His wife, Megala Senthilbalaji, filed an urgent Habeas Corpus plea at the Madras High Court after Balaji was taken into custody by ED; she alleged that the arrest was done without any notice or summons. The division bench of Justice M. Sundar and Justice Sakthivel was initially to hear the plea on an urgent basis; however, later, Justice R. Sakthivel recused himself from hearing the Habeas Corpus petition. Some reports suggested that Justice Sakthivel recused himself from hearing the plea as he hails from Karur, the hometown of the accused.

• Strong protests were staged following the minister’s arrest, and different political parties condemned the ED’s style of functioning and alleged that the BJP was using the central agencies for their political gain.
  

  The Secular Progressive Alliance organized a protest against the BJP Government’s misuse of investigating agencies

• Tamil Nadu chief minister Stalin lambasted the ED and alleged that Balaji was taken to hospital due to the torture of the officials and pointed out that their party and its members were not afraid of the intimidation tactics of the BJP and stated that they were planning to take legal actions against the ED; however, earlier the DMK chief openly accused Senthil of accepting bribes when he was part of the AIADMK. The BJP and AIADMK supporters are now using it against the chief minister and demanding the immediate resignation of Balaji.

• Under Chief Minister M. K. Stalin’s suggestions, Tamil Nadu Governor R. N. Ravi reassigned the portfolios previously held by the arrested state Minister V Senthil Balaji on 16 June 2023. Balaji’s former portfolio for Electricity and Non-Conventional Energy Development was handed over to Finance Minister Thangam Thennarsu, while S Muthusamy, the Housing and Urban Development Minister, received the portfolios for Prohibition and Excise, as well as Molasses. Thennarsu and Muthusamy are expected to handle these new responsibilities alongside their existing ones, as indicated by certain reports.

• Despite being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on 14 June 2023 due to a cash-for-jobs scam, Balaji remained a Minister in the Stalin ministry without any portfolios, undergoing medical treatment. Reports suggested that the Governor disagreed with the minister’s continuation as a member of the Council of Ministers due to ongoing criminal proceedings associated with moral wrongdoing and his current state of being in judicial custody. This reshuffling of portfolios occurred one day after the ruling DMK accused Governor Ravi of disregarding Stalin’s recommendation to make these changes.