Why controversial yet aspirational face, Senthilbalaji gets reception from DMK

CHENNAI: In an era after the demise of iconic leaders such as M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu has never seen such excitement dominating the political scene as it did on Thursday when the Supreme Court ordered the release of former DMK minister V Senthilbalaji aka VSB, and that too on bail, in a money laundering case.

An air of hysteria and exasperation engulfed DMK and opposition leaders, respectively, may be in equal measure. So much so that many wondered since Thursday morning "Who is VSB?"

Senthilbalaji was a college dropout from an agricultural family who fraternised easily with the high and mighty of the parties he was in during the last two decades. The answer perhaps was in his amiable personality and hard-headed political shakes and moves.

Born to Veluchamy and Palaniammal in a nondescript Rameswarapatti village in a not-so-politically influential Karur district, young VSB, known only as Senthilkumar then, was the proverbial early bird who sensed that he would be all aces in politics. Quitting collegiate education (B Com) in the middle of the 1990s to take the political plunge, he joined a fledgling Vaiko's MDMK shortly after the latter broke ranks with the DMK. No sooner, a pragmatic VSB joined the DMK and became a panchayat union councillor. Facing resistance from DMK old guard KC Palanisamy and Chinnasamy, Senthilkumar transformed into Senthilbalaji and joined the AIADMK in March 2013 under the aegis of the then state secretary of the party student's wing VP Kalairajan who also got him appointed as the joint organiser of Karur unit of the wing. Still a nobody in state politics, the failed textile business owner was successfully bankrolled by friends and relatives in the 2006 Assembly poll.

The rookie became an MLA six years after joining the party (though AIADMK failed to retain power in the elections). His show of strength against the influential KCP's sand business impressed Poes Garden so much he got appointed as AIADMK Karur district secretary.

Lady luck smiled on him in 2011 when Jayalalithaa, who stormed back to power in the company of Vijayakanth's DMDK, appointed VSB as the State Transport Minister in his second term as MLA. The aspirational young minister shot to fame by introducing the low-cost 'Amma' water bottles through TNSTC and launched small buses, even covertly embellishing the buses with "Two Leaves" insignia of the party that impressed party general secretary Jayalalithaa. He positioned himself so well in the AIADMK that his ministerial berth remained unshakable while seasoned ones were shown the door by Jayalalithaa. He has to thank his ability for novelty and political theatrics that knew no bounds.

Eager to sustain his seemingly near invincibility in the AIADMK, he successfully organised a Guinness attempt by organising a blood donation camp on Jayalalithaa's birthday. His political strategising and socialising were so good that his name too briefly did the rounds for the Chief Minister post following Jayalalithaa's conviction in the Disproportionate Assets case. An introvert VSB even tonsured his head along with 5,000 others, carried theechatti (a ritual of carrying fire pot to appease gods) and even performed anga pradarshanam (rolling on temple floor) to curry favour with the high command. However, soon he fell out of favour with the 'Garden' which stripped him off the ministerial berth and party position

Party insiders claim that he lost his clout after allegedly leaking the ‘total prohibition’ promise contemplated by Jayalalithaa to rival DMK ahead of the 2016 Assembly polls. But there were Karur land grab charges and the cash-for-job scam allegations too against him. Nonetheless, his showmanship and strategising fetched him another term as MLA from Aravakurichi in 2016, thanks to the return of the good graces of the ‘Garden’.

In the months following Jayalalithaa's demise in December 2016, a politically weakened and yet ambitious VSB joined the mutiny engineered by VK Sasikala and co, against the then Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami following the reunion with O Pannerselvam’s camp in the middle of 2017.

Upon realising that the AMMK project led by TTV was a non-starter, now an experienced and resourceful Balaji, shunned the organising secretary post of the party and returned to the DMK in December 2018 and catapulted one-time rival S Jothimani to the Lok Sabha from Karur barely a few months later. The trajectory of his political career only looked up north thereafter. Senthilbalaji returned to the State Assembly as the same Aravakurichi MLA again, this time representing the Rising Sun of the DMK which could not find a worthwhile replacement after district secretary Vasuki Murugesan's death. For a sweeping victory in the Karur district, VSB was rewarded with an electricity portfolio by Chief Minister MK Stalin, who once in the past demanded his arrest. For a party suffering successive setbacks in the western region, mainly Coimbatore, go-getter VSB was a godsend who won 96 out of 100 wards in the Coimbatore Corporation election, demystifying the perception that it was an AIADMK bastion dominated by an equally enterprising SP Velumani.

Balaji’s luck seems to have run out after ED, armed with court orders, came calling to his camp office on June 13, 2023, months before the Parliamentary poll fever set in, over the job racket case pertaining to the time when he was a minister with the AIADMK government.

An electioneering mastermind who set the bar high

Balaji’s ability to warm up to the powers that be, even to the extent of unsettling rank old timers, and ability to handle electioneering have always been a topic of debate in the inner circles of parties-whichever he was part of.

The story of VSB would be incomplete without a mention of his electioneering capacity and ability to court controversies. Even for a state synonymous with electoral notoriety, VSB set the election bar too high. His electioneering strategy was so rich in thoughts and resources that the Election Commission of India (ECI) infamously countermanded the Aravakurichi election he was contesting on an AIADMK ticket, owing to the enormity of complaints about the distribution of cash for votes in 2016. VSB's electioneering prowess was on display again in the 2019 Parliamentary polls. He successfully challenged the might of the ruling AIADMK and BJP in Karur and sent foe-turned-friend S Jothimani to the Lok Sabha.

A powerful AIADMK dominated by M Thambidurai and M Vijayabaskar, armed with the BJP's muscle, were no match to his electioneering capacity in Karur which he swept for the DMK. Erode East bypoll in March 2023 is yet another example for his election management skills. He was accused of introducing the 'shelter' (Patti in Tamil) strategy, where hundreds of voters were confined to a closed enclosure. Arranging supporters from home town Karur, VSB was also accused of introducing the 'anklet' strategy (distribution of anklets to voters) in Coimbatore to successfully wrest control of the civic council election.

Devil's advocate of DMK who got on BJP’s nerves

For the soft-spoken politician he was known to be, VSB dared the mighty BJP and its state president K Annamalai with aplomb. Confronting charges of corruption against their government, Senthilbalaji played the perfect Devil's advocate for the DMK and punctured the integrity canvas spun successfully by Annamalai and his ilk till then.

VSB was the first to question the funding source of the Rafale special edition ‘Bell and Ross’ watch worn by Annamalai. At a time when the BJP was waxing eloquent about probity in public and levelling random corruption allegations against the Stalin regime, Balaji got on Annamalai's nerves by alleging that the monthly bills of the BJP state president were footed by his undisclosed associates, demolishing the integrity theory and putting the BJP on the back foot.

Darling of controversies

As much as his ability to endear to his political bosses, VSB always had an uncanny knack to court controversies. From getting entangled in alleged scams to making controversial comments, his list is quite unending.

Shortly after his debut as a minister, VSB was in the headlines for the wrong reasons for an alleged land grab attempt in his native Karur. It was an embarrassment for the AIADMK as the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had constituted a special land grab cell at the time to pin down the who’s who of the DMK. As she was pitching DMK leaders as land grabbers, relating to incidents during their previous regime, her own party leader was found in the dock.

Even before the land grab infamy died down, the chickens came home to roost again a few years later in the form of the ‘cash for jobs’ scam, which has become his undoing now, relating to the recruitment for transport corporations.

Regarding his election strategies, the little said the better. Not surprisingly, that was not the end of his controversies. He was in the eye of the political storm for alleged overpricing of liquor bottles at Tasmac outlets. Nothing could outdo his squirrel blooper which put even the worst motor mouths in politics to shame.

Negating a media query on frequent power outages in the state, Senthilbalaji, in his capacity of electricity minister, claimed squirrels running on the live wires contributed to short circuits and therefore frequent power outages. He was mocked for such a reference. But he was never seen as a laughing stock not just going by the reception he got after getting bail in a criminal case, but also how important he is seen in the electoral game plan of the DMK.

Challenges Balaji will face if Tasmac comes under his realm

* DMK insiders say Senthilbalaji is going to be reinducted again as the Minister for Electricity and Prohibition, but it doesn’t appear to be a cakewalk

* In such a case the new minister will have to deal with a plethora of problems in the high profile departments coming under his portfolio. Tangedco distributes electricity to the public and Tasmac is the state-run liquor outlets. Both these ministries are facing severe issues needing quick remedy

* Spiralling electricity bills and multiple power tariff hikes among commercial users have led to unrest among all users

* Poll promise of bringing monthly EB bills with subsidised 100 units it biting the budget of Tangedco

* TNEB trade unions demand the filling up of more than 60,000 vacant posts

* Tasmac staff are at loggerheads with the State government demanding better pay and job regularisation

* Employees of both Tangedco and Tasmac demand work safety and better retirement benefits

* Spurious sale of liquor and hooch tragedy continues to be the Achilles heel for the government

* Reducing the number of liquor shops is a poll promise tough to implement for any minister