Another son-rise in the DMK as Udhayanidhi Stalin is set to join his father's cabinet

Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, will become a state cabinet minister starting tomorrow. The first-time MLA from Chennai's Chepauk constituency and the DMK's most well-known dynast — he is Stalin's only son — will take the oath of office at the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan.

Sources from the DMK indicate that Udhayanidhi will take charge of the sports and youth development department. "It's a natural ascension and a welcome one," said DMK spokesperson A Saravanan, on the elevation.

"Udhayanidhi has proven himself as being indispensable to the party — he campaigned for us extensively in the 2019 and 2021 elections and has been doing a great job in his constituency," Saravanan added.

For the DMK, Udhayanidhi elevation has been a long time coming. Ever since the DMK won a historic mandate last year, after being out of power for 10 years, the 35th and final cabinet berth in the Tamil Nadu government has been kept vacant for him.

Many believed it was only a matter of time before Stalin's son was elevated, and that when the time came it would also double up as an expected indication of the DMK’s succession plan as well.

Incidentally, when Stalin himself was elevated as a cabinet minister, it came during his father, M Karunanidhi's last term as chief minister (2011-2016). In contrast, Udhayanidhi's elevation comes during Stalin’s first. Is this an indication that the party’s dynastic ways are stronger than ever before?

"The Tamil Nadu electorate doesn’t really care if sons of ministers succeed their fathers," says political analyst Sumanth Raman, "If the electorate did care, it would have made its feelings known during elections. But we’ve seen how the electorate has rewarded dynasts and not punished them."

Sumanth has a valid point. Dynasts have thrived across party lines in Tamil Nadu. State minister and DMK veteran, Durai Murugan's son, DM Kathir Anand, successfully won a Lok Sabha bid in 2019 even amid allegations of paying voters for votes.

In the AIADMK too, heavyweights like former chief minister O Paneerselvam and D Jayakumar have had their sons — Ravindranath and Jayavardhan — in Parliament albeit during different terms. In the Congress, P Chidambaram’s son, Karthi, is a sitting MP from the Sivaganga constituency.

The 45-year-old is one of Stalin’s two children and won his assembly seat in 2021 while contesting from the DMK stronghold of Chepauk. Udhayanidhi polled 93,285 votes and secured a whopping 68.92 percent of the constituency's vote share.

With a B.Com degree from Chennai's famous Loyola College, Udhayanidhi is a well-known actor too. He has featured in 14 Tamil films and is presently filming for two more. Udhayanidhi also heads his own film production company, Red Giant Movies, which has made about 15 films to date — his wife Kiruthiga steps in as de-facto producer.

Given that the DMK scion still has an active film career, does he run the risk of being seen as not committing to the job? "He's got a great opportunity and it’s up to him to make it count — if he’s going to keep making movies and being a part-time minister it won’t be acceptable," says Sumanth Raman.

However, the DMK doesn’t foresee a problem even should Udhayanidhi choose to be both, an active film star and politician. "Even former chief ministers like MGR (MG Ramachandran) acted in films while he was chief minister," points out Saravanan.

However, what many ignore is that MGR himself acted in all one-of-one films after becoming a chief minister — Madhuraiyai Meetta Sundharapandiyan, incidentally didn’t do well enough at the box office.

"If Udhayanidhi were to complete the two films he’s shooting right now because of commitments, that would, at some level be acceptable," says Sumanth, "But continuing to sign films and being a part-time minister is not."