# V. Senthil Balaji

V. Senthil Balaji (born 21 October 1975) is an Indian politician who currently serves as the Electricity, Prohibition and Excise Minister for the state of Tamil Nadu.

## Early life

V Senthil Balaji was born on 21 October 1975 in Rameswarapatti in Karur district. He hails from an agricultural background. He has completed his high school & Higher Secondary school studies from Rameswarapatti Govt. School, Vivekananda School, Pasupathypalayam and Municipal Higher Secondary school, Karur. He entered politics at the age of 21 and was active since early 2000s.

## Politics

In 1997 he began his public service as a local body member. He was the Minister for Transport of the Government of Tamil Nadu from 2011 to 2015. He was dropped from cabinet in July 2015. As a cadre of Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, he was previously elected to the same Karur constituency in 2006 general elections. He was elected as a MLA from Aravakurichi constituency in 2016. After the demise of Jayalalithaa he played a key role in saving the government. When AIADMK separated into factions he stood by T. T. V. Dhinakaran. On 18 September 2017, 18 MLA's were disqualified by the speaker P. Dhanapal for their petition to the Governor Mr. Banwarilal Purohit to change the Chief Minister. He joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), in the presence of Party President M. K. Stalin on 14 December 2018. Soon after joining the party he was offered District Secretary post and later was announced as by-election candidate for Aravakurichi constituency. He was elected as a MLA on 23 May 2019 for fourth time. He serves as a member of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly. He won the election held in the month of April 2021.

### Arrest

On 14 June 2023, Enforcement Directorate officials raided Senthil Balaji's house and other places related to him in Chennai and Coimbatore and interrogated him in relation to allegations made while he served as the transport minister in the AIADMK-led government from 2011 to 2015, prior to joining the DMK. During the raid, they arrested Balaji for allegedly laundering money and took him for questioning. Subsequently, he was sent to judicial custody until 28 June 2023. He allegedly had chest pains during this time and he had to be treated in hospital.
V Senthil Balaji tendered his resignation on 12 February 2024, eight months after his arrest ahead of his bail plea hearing in the Madras High Court. When he was released in September 2024, then again he got minister position in same cabinet.

## Ministry

| Designation | Portfolio | Party | Chief Minister | To | To |
| Designation | Portfolio | Party | Chief Minister | Took office | Left office |
| Tamilnadu Minister of Transport | Transport, Nationalised Transport, Motor Vehicles Act | AIADMK | J.Jayalalithaa | 16 May 2011 | 27 September 2014 |
| Tamilnadu Minister of Transport | Transport, Nationalised Transport, Motor Vehicles Act | AIADMK | O. Panneerselvam | 28 September 2014 | 23 May 2015 |
| Tamilnadu Minister of Transport | Transport, Nationalised Transport, Motor Vehicles Act | AIADMK | J.Jayalalithaa | 23 May 2015 | 28 July 2015 |
| Tamilnadu Minister for Electricity, Prohibition & Excise | Electricity, Non-Conventional Energy, Prohibition & Excise, Molasses | DMK | M.K.Stalin | 07 May 2021 | 16 June 2023 |
| Tamilnadu Minister for Electricity, Prohibition & Excise | Electricity, Non-Conventional Energy, Prohibition & Excise, Molasses | DMK | M.K.Stalin | 28 September 2024 | Incumbent |

## Electoral performance
### Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Elections

| Elections | Constituency | Party | Result | Vote percentage | Opposition Candidate | Opposition Party | Opposition vote percentage |
| 2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Karur | AIADMK | Won | 46.00 | Vasuki Murugesan | DMK | 43.84 |
| 2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Karur | AIADMK | Won | 61.18 | S.Jothimani | INC | 34.10 |
| 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Aravakurichi | AIADMK | Won | 53.51 | K. C. Palanisamy | DMK | 39.13 |
| 2019 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly by-elections | Aravakurichi | DMK | Won | 56.45 | V. V. Senthil Nathan | AIADMK | 34.54 |
| 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Karur | DMK | Won | 49.31 | M. R. Vijayabhaskar | AIADMK | 43.28 |