Chennai: DMK MLA V Senthil Balaji, who was granted bail just three days ago in a money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, was on Sunday sworn-in as a minister with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin allotting him the lucrative Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise, the portfolios that he held before his arrest in June 2023.
Dr Govi Chezhian, R Rajendran, and S M Nasar were also administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor R N Ravi as Stalin undertook a reshuffle of his three-and-a-half-year-old cabinet.
On Saturday, Stalin had dropped T Mano Thangaraj, K S Masthan, and K Ramachandran, and recommended four new names to fill the vacancies in his cabinet.
Chezhian was allotted Higher Education, while Rajendran got Tourism, and Nasar was made the minister for minorities welfare.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, who was designated as deputy chief minister Saturday night, took the front row along with his mother Durga, wife Kiruthiga, aunt Kanimozhi, and senior leaders of the DMK like T R Baalu, and Dayanidhi Maran. Udhay is now the no. 2 in his father’s government.
“It is not a post, it is a big responsibility. I will continue to work hard for the state and for the DMK,” Udhay told reporters. “I accept the criticism along with wishes from various quarters on my elevation as the deputy CM,” he added, when asked about the “dynastic politics” barb lobbed against him by opposition parties.
Udhay made visits to the residences of party general secretary Durai Murugan, and Kanimozhi to “seek their blessings.” “I wish Udhayanidhi best of luck in his tenure as deputy CM,” Kanimozhi said.
IT Minister P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan didn’t attend the swearing-in as his flight from Madurai got delayed by three hours due to a technical snag. He met Stalin and Udhay in person after landing in Chennai.
The inclusion of Balaji, who quit AIADMK and joined the DMK in 2018, into the cabinet just three days after the Supreme Court granted bail to him – he spent 16 months in jail – is noteworthy as it signifies the importance the DMK top brass attaches to the man who it believes is the reason for a turnaround in electoral fortunes in 2022 civic election after a dismal performance in the 2021 assembly elections.
He was not just inducted into the Cabinet, but was also allotted Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise, the portfolios that he held before his arrest. “In fact, the cabinet was delayed because of Balaji. The leadership was clear that he should be inducted again and chose to wait for him to come out on bail. There are no surprises as he got the same portfolios,” a DMK leader told DH.
Balaji’s arrest in a cash for jobs scam when he was a minister in the 2011-2016 AIADMK government in June 2023 had triggered a major row between the DMK dispensation and the Governor, who objected to his continuance as a Minister without portfolio. The governor escalated the situation by “dismissing” Balaji from the Cabinet but was forced to put it on hold following a direction from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.