TR Baalu: News

Thalikottai Rajuthevar Baalu is a veteran politician of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and a seven-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Tamil Nadu. He did his graduation from the University of Madras and obtained a diploma in Civil Engineering from Central Polytechnic, Chennai. He joined the DMK as a teenager and became the party secretary for the Chennai city district in 1982. In 1986, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha, serving his term till 1992. Baalu was elected consecutively in the 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2009 Lok Sabha elections and served as a Union Minister in various governments. He was the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Petroleum & Natural Gas in the United Front Government (1996-98). Between 1999 and 2003, he served as the Union Minister of Environment & Forests in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and was the Minister for Shipping, Road Transport, and Highways in the UPA government from 2004 to 2009. In the 2019 General Elections, Baalu won from Sriperumbudur, becoming a Lok Sabha MP for the sixth time.