Chennai:
Udhayanidhi Stalin – the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and the state’s Sports Minister – is set to be promoted to the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, if buzz from within the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is to be believed. A statement was expected at 11.30 am but there was no announcement.
Sources did say, however, that the Chief Minister has had consultations with senior party figures, and that a formal notification may be released this evening, from Governor RN Ravi’s office.
Speculation over Udhayanidhi Stalin’s promotion has been doing the rounds for the past few months; in August senior party sources told NDTV the party is considering the step as part of prepping for the 2026 Assembly election and to strengthen its second-rung leadership.
The Chief Minister’s son led the DMK’s campaign for the April-June Lok Sabha election, and the dominant showing – the party-led alliance won all 39 seats – has added to the clamour for his upgrade.
Udhayanidhi Stalin also played a key role in the party’s successful 2019 Lok Sabha campaign and the 2021 Assembly election, in which the party swept 133 of the state’s 234 seats and dumped rivals All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (and its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party) from power.
All of this is being seen as an answer to some (within the party) who thought Udhayanidhi lacks the experience and political acumen to command acceptance from the party’s veteran leaders.
Party sources also said the promotion for Udhayanidhi Stalin is being seen as a way to counter the entry of Tamil actor Vijay into politics. The hugely popular actor – whose legions of fans have named him ‘thalapathy’, or ‘commander’ – launched his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, last month.
This morning, however, he refused to talk of his elevation, saying that only the Chief Minister could take that decision. He did, though, say “some leaders… want me as Deputy Chief Minister”.
In July too he underplayed talk of becoming his father’s deputy, declaring “all ministers in our government are ‘deputy chief ministers’.
Ahead of the expected promotion, the opposition has fired (a predictable) volley of criticism.
The AIADMK has slammed Udhayanidhi Stalin’s possible elevation as “dynastic politics”. The party also referred to ex Chief Minister M Karunanidhi – MK Stalin’s father and Udhayanidhi’s grandfather.
AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan also declared that naming Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy Chief Minister would “signal the end of the DMK”. “The party will split ahead of the 2026 election…” he said, claiming also that the Chief Minister, before the 2021 election, had said neither his son nor son-in-law (daughter Senthamarai Stalin’s husband, Sabareesan) would enter politics.
DMK sources, however, dismissed the allegation, pointing out Udhayanidhi had been “democratically elected” as a MLA. “Where (then) is the question of dynasty?”
There has also been criticism from the BJP, which has waved furiously at Udhayanidhi’s controversial comments about the “eradication of ‘sanatan dharma'” last year, for which he faces police cases.
In Tamil Nadu and the southern states ‘sanatan dharma’ is seen through the prism of the age-old caste discrimination lens.
Speculation over Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy Chief Minister ramped up last month after Tamil Nadu Welfare Minister Raja Kannappan referred to him as such at a public event.
READ | Son-Rise In DMK? Minister Calls Udhayanidhi ‘Deputy Chief Minister’
He tried to correct himself immediately, declaring the reference would only be correct after August 19 but, in doing so, perhaps gave away another clue – the elevation will likely happen soon.
Pressed on this, the Chief Minister had then suggested that while there is no doubt (within the DMK too) that his son will succeed him, the timing was perhaps not right.
READ | Time Yet To Arrive To Make Udhayanidhi Deputy, Hints MK Stalin
Asked by reporters, MK Stalin had said “the demand has grown stronger… but it has not ripened”.
A first-time MLA (he won the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni seat, a DMK stronghold, by nearly 70,000 votes), Udhayanidhi Stalin is also the party’s Youth Wing Secretary, and has been credited with reviving its fortunes following the enrolment of several lakh youngsters.
Before becoming the Sports Minister, he organised the Chess Olympiad in Chennai. As the Sports Minister he brought the recently-held Formula 4 night race through the city’s streets, as well as hockey and beach volleyball tournaments.
