Tamil Nadu Police have arrested three people after TVK MLA N Ilaiyaraja alleged that he was offered Rs 35 crore to vote against the ruling party’s position on a proposed resolution targeting the Assembly Speaker.
Former DMK minister V Senthil Balaji and his brother, V Ashok Kumar, have been named in the investigation as allegedly being linked to the conspiracy, accoridng to the police.
MLA Says He Was Threatened
In his June 29 complaint to the Chennai Police Commissioner, Ilaiyaraja alleged that a man named Thirunavukkarasu contacted him while claiming to run an opinion polling organisation, Indian Political Democratic Strategies.
The caller allegedly said he was speaking on behalf of leaders from a major political party and later told Ilaiyaraja that a resolution would be brought against the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Despite Ilaiyaraja being part of the ruling party, he was allegedly asked to vote in a specific manner.
Ilaiyaraja alleged that he was offered up to Rs 35 crore for the vote. He claimed he refused the offer and told Thirunavukkarasu not to contact him again. The caller then allegedly threatened him and warned of consequences for him and his family if he revealed the conversation.
Minister Alleges DMK Role
Police said their probe found that V Ashok Kumar, brother of former DMK minister and Coimbatore South MLA V Senthil Balaji, had met Naresh in Chennai. Investigators further alleged that Thirunavukkarasu reached out to Ilaiyaraja on the instructions of Senthil Balaji and Ashok Kumar.
Tamil Nadu minister P Nirmal Kumar alleged that the DMK had been trying to poach ruling party MLAs for the “last 40 days”.
“We have been saying continuously for the last 40 days that the DMK, Stalin, and his team have been trying to poach our MLAs. A few days ago, one of our MLAs was threatened by DMK members. This was backed by Senthil Balaji and his brother, Ashok,” ANI quoted him as saying.
“With their support, they allegedly offered around Rs 35 crore to one of our MLAs and asked him to vote against TVK when a no-confidence motion against the Speaker is brought. That was their request. When he refused, he was allegedly threatened severely by DMK members. He has filed a complaint along with all the evidence. Based on this, the police have arrested three persons. All three are close aides of Senthil Balaji,” he added.
The case comes months after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, when TVK won 108 seats in its first contest and ended the long-running dominance of the DMK and AIADMK alliances.
