Tamil Nadu: Udhayanidhi Stalin’s huge lead in DMK. Explained in 5 points. peppermint

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, on Sunday officially took charge as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister – ending days of speculation over the move.

Udhayanidhi’s promotion comes amid growing demand within the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, especially keeping in mind the 2026 assembly elections in the state.

third generation dynasty

46-year-old Udhayanidhi is the third generation leader in his family to hold an important role in the Tamil Nadu government. He follows in the footsteps of his grandfather and DMK veteran leader late M Karunanidhi and his father Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Former CM Karunanidhi involved both his sons MK Stalin and M Alagiri and his daughter Kanimozhi in politics, but made sure to keep them away from the limelight until they were active in politics.

Udhayanidhi made his political debut five years ago when, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he visited the state as the DMK youth wing chief. It was during that tour that Udhayanidhi started gaining fame.

Political debut 5 years ago

After being active in politics for over three decades, MK Stalin was promoted by his father as the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 29 May 2009. He had been mayor of Chennai and won assembly elections four times before being appointed as his father’s number two.

In contrast, Udhayanidhi has won the assembly elections only once so far. He has been in active politics for only five years. After a decade-long stint in Kollywood as a producer and actor, he won Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, the safest DMK seat in Chennai, in the 2021 assembly elections.

Nearly a year and a half after the DMK came to power with his father MK Stalin as CM, Udhayanidhi was inducted as a minister with the welfare and sports development portfolios in December 2022.

Since then, Udhayanidhi has been active on the political scene of Tamil Nadu. His constituency tour is prominently covered by DMK social media handles. He has sort of given up his film career and many say that the 2023 film Mamanan was his last performance as an actor.

However, Udhayanidhi remains the head of the film production company, Red Giants.

Sanatan Dharma comment line

In 2023, Udhayanidhi courted controversy after calling for the ‘abolition’ of Sanatana Dharma, drawing criticism from the BJP. In March 2024, the Supreme Court reprimanded him over his ‘Sanatan Dharma’ remarks and asked him to desist from such comments as he is “not a common man but a minister”.

“You misuse your rights under the right to freedom of speech and expression and religious freedom and then come to the Supreme Court for protection under Article 32? Don’t you know what the consequences of what you said will be?” The Supreme Court bench asked him.

BJP says, family rule

Following the promotion, Tamil Nadu BJP vice-president Narayanan Tirupathi said on September 29 that Udhayanidhi lacked the ‘maturity’ to hold a ministerial post, leave alone becoming a deputy CM.

BJP leader N Ramachander Rao claimed that Abhishek reflected family interests over national and public welfare, terming it a classic example of family rule within the opposition Indian faction.

‘Father Stalin free from burden’

According to reports, the purpose of elevating Udhayanidhi to the number two position in MK Stalin’s government is to gain ‘greater acceptance’ within the polity, ‘free’ his father and ‘facilitate’ smooth governance.

The purpose of this promotion is to help prepare Udhayanidhi with important responsibilities and allow him to learn the roles in the government as he prepares for the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK won the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, ending the decade-long reign of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). MK Stalin became the eighth CM of Tamil Nadu replacing AIADMK’s Edappadi K Palaniswami.

DMK won 133 seats in the 234-member House. DMK’s alliance partner Congress won 18 seats. AIADMK won 66 seats while BJP won 4 seats.