The man DMK is counting on to breach AIADMK’s western bastion in Tamil Nadu

Apr 17, 2026 | 18:36 IST

V Senthilbalaji

He was arrested in a money laundering case, spent time in jail, lost his ministerial berth, and even underwent heart treatment. And now he's the man that Stalin has turned to for reviving DMK’s fortunes in western Tamil Nadu. Why?

In the early hours of June 14, 2023, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Tamil Nadu electricity minister V Senthilbalaji in a money laundering case, a fallout of a cash-for-jobs scam during an earlier tenure as an AIADMK (ADMK in short) minister. As he lost his ministerial berth, underwent heart treatment, and spent more than a year in jail, there were many who felt it was time to write his political obituary.

As the state heads to the hustings again to elect a government, Senthilbalaji is still not out of legal tangles. But he’s the man that chief minister M K Stalin has turned to for reviving DMK’s fortunes in western Tamil Nadu.

TOI

TOI

The man DMK is counting on to breach AIADMK’s western bastion in Tamil Nadu

He was arrested in a money laundering case, spent time in jail, lost his ministerial berth, and even underwent heart treatment. And now he's the man that Stalin has turned to for reviving DMK’s fortunes in western Tamil Nadu. Why?

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TOI

The man DMK is counting on to breach AIADMK’s western bastion in Tamil Nadu

He was arrested in a money laundering case, spent time in jail, lost his ministerial berth, and even underwent heart treatment. And now he's the man that Stalin has turned to for reviving DMK’s fortunes in western Tamil Nadu. Why?

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