Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin is all set to be elevated to the post of deputy chief minister, according to reports. The promotion in Udhayanidhi’s status is likely to take place in August before his father MK Stalin departs for the US.
Udhayanidhi, 46, is presently Tamil Nadu’s youth affairs and sports minister. The development comes when a reshuffle in MK Stalin-led cabinet is also expected. An MLA from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency, Udhayanidhi was sworn in as a minister in the cabinet in December 2022.
‘Unburden father Stalin’
Udhayanidhi’s elevation is aimed at gaining ‘larger acceptance’ within the state government, ‘unburden’ his father and ‘facilitate’ smooth governance, Indian Express said in a report quoting sources.
“This move will help groom Udhayanidhi with significant responsibilities,” the report quoted a senior DMK leader as saying. The move is also aimed at preparing for the 2026 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.
The reports about Udhayanidhi’s promotion did rounds earlier too. In January, CM Stalin dismissed rumours around his son’s promotion, as ‘unfounded’ and ‘handiwork of rivals’. Udhayanidhi had said all ministers in the government, including him, worked as deputies to the CM.
Third-Generation Dynast
Udhayanidhi is the third-generation politician from the family of the DMK Patriarch late M Karunanidhi. The former CM of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi accommodated both his sons MK Stalin and M Alagiri and his daughter Kanimozhi in politics, he ensured keeping him away from the spotlight as long as he was active in politics.
Udhayanidhi made his debut in politics ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when he toured the state as head of the DMK youth wing. In 2021 assembly elections, he was fielded from one of the DMK’s safest seats, Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni in Chennai, which he won, not surprisingly.
Political career apart, Udhayanidhi also heads film production company, Red Giants.