Senthil Balaji is an Indian politician who works like the Minister of Electricity, Prohibition and Excise in the state of Tamil Nadu. V Senthil Balaji is an MLA of the Aravakurichi constituency from the DMK party.
Bio/Wiki
Age-47years
Height-5feet 8 inch
Weight-65 kg
Born-21 October 1975
Full name-V Senthil Balaji
Birthplace- Rameswarapatti Karur, Tamil Nādu
Profession-Politician
Spouse- S. Megala Senthilbalaji
Office-Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly since 2021
Party name- Dravida Munetra Kazhagam
Nationality-Indian
Family
V Senthil Balaji was born on 21 October 1975 in Rameswarapati in Karur district. He comes from an agricultural background. His father’s name P. Veluchamy and mother’s name Rukmani
Wife
Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji’s wife S Megala, who filed a habeas corpus petition in the Madras High Court seeking the minister’s arrest in a money laundering case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Children
The couple have one daughter, but her name is not known right now.
Education
Senthil Balaji completed his high school and higher school studies in Rameswarapatti Govt. School, Vivekananda School, Pasupathypalayam and Municipal High School, Karur. He entered politics at the age of 21 and has been active since the early 2000s.
Career
In 1997, he began public service as a member of a local body. He was the transport minister in the Government of Tamil Nadu from 2011 to 2015.
Senthil Balaji, He was dismissed from the government in July 2015. As a member of the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, he was earlier elected to the same Karur constituency in the 2006 general elections.
He was elected MLA from Aravakurich constituency in 2016. After the death of Jayalalithaa, he played a key role in saving the government. When the AIADMK split into factions, he supported T.T.V. Dhinakaran.
On 18 September 2017, Speaker P. Dhanapal disqualified 18 MLAs to ask Governor Banwarilal Purohit to replace the Chief Minister.
On 14 December 2018, he joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the presence of party president MK Stalin.
Soon after joining the party, he was offered the post of district secretary and later was announced in the Aravakurich district by-election.
Achievement
Senthil Balaji was elected MLA for the fourth time on 23 May 2019. He is a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
configuration He won the April 2021 elections and currently serves as the Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise.
Allegation
The allegations against Balaji date from 2011 to 2015, when he served as transport minister in the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government. Applicants were allegedly charged millions of rupees for promised jobs. Many applicants did not get jobs, even though they claimed to have paid bribes.
Balaji left the AIADMK after the death of former chief minister J Jayalalitha in 2016. He joined the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in December 2018.
In May, the Supreme Court allowed the ED to continue its money-laundering probe into the alleged scam, setting aside a 2022 order of the Madras High Court.
Arrest
Balaji’s arrest came two weeks after the Income Tax department raided more than 40 places linked to the ministers in Tamil Nadu.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji for alleged money laundering after questioning him for hours, people familiar with the matter said, adding that he was taken to hospital after complaining of a disturbance.
On Tuesday, Stalin termed the ED raid on Balaji’s secretariat as a direct attack on federalism. “The BJP will know this soon. The silence of those who watch the cheap vindictive acts of the BJP should not be underestimated. Nothing but the calm before the storm in 2024 [national elections] that will take the BJP away.”
His West Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee, condemned the BJP’s “political vendetta” against the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, saying abuses by central agencies continued, but called them impossible and desperate acts.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge described the attack as a form of harassment and intimidation by the Union government. He said that such brazen misuse of investigative agencies against political opponents was a hallmark of the Modi government, and that this tactic was failing to silence the opposition. “They will only strengthen his resolve and determination to continue the democratic struggle against the anti-people policies of the Modi government.”
Hospitalized
Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji was hospitalized after his arrest for complaining about the riots.
The arrest came hours after Prime Minister MK Stalin attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) “backhanded tactics” against its political opponents as the ED began raids on locations linked to Balaji as part of its probe in Chennai, Karur and Erode in Tamil Nadu. On Tuesday
Balaji’s official residence in Chennai and an office at the State Secretariat were also among the targets of the raid. The ED had to seek Balaji’s custody after he produced a special court later Wednesday.
The Press Trust of India news agency quoted Balaji’s ministerial colleague P K. Sekar Babu as citing indications that Balaji had been tortured. It referred to a television picture and said that Balaji was restless during his hospitalization. Babu told reporters that Balaji was admitted to the ICU. “He was unconscious and unresponsive when he called her name. He is being monitored… there is a swelling near his ear… doctors say his EKG [electrocardiogram] is varying… these are symptoms of torture.
His West Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee, condemned the BJP’s “political vendetta” against the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, saying abuses by central agencies continued, but called them impossible and desperate acts.
Net Worth 2023
Net Worth – ₹2.84 CRORE
ASSETS – ₹2.93 CRORE
Liabilities – ₹9.05 LAKHS