TTV Dhinakaran loyalist Senthil Balaji meets Stalin, joins DMK

Senthil Balaji until Thursday did not announce his decision to jump the party, despite the media reports and people in DMK and AMMK confirming what initially spread as a rumour in TN political circle.

Former AMMK leader Senthil Balaji with DMK chief Stalin. (Photo | DMK)

CHENNAI: Former Tamil Nadu transport minister and a senior functionary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) V Senthil Balaji finally joined the opposition DMK on Friday in the presence of the DMK president M K Stalin. 

Senthil Balaji, a key member in the R K Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran's newly launched AMMK, was one of the 18 MLAs disqualified by the Tamil Nadu assembly speaker.

Senthil Balaji until Thursday did not announce his decision to jump the party, despite the media reports and people in DMK and AMMK confirming what initially spread as a rumour in Tamil Nadu's political circle.

To celebrate his joining, hundreds of Senthil Balaji's supporters from Karur district thronged the opposition party’s headquarters Anna Arivalayam around 12 pm on Friday afternoon.

READ: Senthil Balaji's exit from AMMK brings rumblings within TTV Dhinakaran's party to fore

In the pictures officially released by DMK, party president MK Stalin was seen congratulating Balaji. Two days ago, sources from DMK sources confirmed Balaji had been talking with DMK leaders in Karur and that he is most likely to join the party. On Thursday, AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran dismissed that Senthil Balaji's exit would have any impact in his party.

Former Min V Senthil Balaji says "The AIADMK led by EPS-OPS is a sinking ship; I don't want to criticise the AMMK leaders as; Since November 14, I have been away from the activities of AMMK; now attracted by the leadership of MK Stalin, I have joined the DMK now @NewIndianXpress

— T Muruganandham (@muruga_TNIE) December 14, 2018

However, political observers see this as a setback for the nine-month-old AMMK party as Balaji is the second senior member who has quit the party. Two months after AMMK was launched, Nanjil Sampath a staunch supporter of party deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran left the party.

Balaji, who is one among the 18 disqualified AIADMK MLAs, tasted his first electoral victory as a union councillor from Manmangalam panchayat in Karur union on 1996. He was elected as an independent candidate with the support of local Kongu caste outfit. He
joined AIADMK in 2000 and was again given a ticket for Karur union councillor and he won the same seat for the second term on 2001.

Subsequently, he was given the assembly ticket for Karur assembly segment in 2006 assembly general election. Later, he was again given a ticket for Karur assembly segment in 2011 which he and was appointed as minister for Transport department. In this situation, he was dropped from the cabinet on July 2015.