'Son-rise' in DMK as Udhayanidhi Stalin becomes Tamil Nadu's Deputy Chief Minister

Udhay’s rise in the DMK has been meteoric even for a member of the first family and is in complete contrast with his father Stalin, who climbed the party ladder gradually over the decades.

Chennai: On January 27, 2018, DMK cadres and leaders gathered in Tambaram, a suburb on the outskirts of the metropolis, to protest against the AIADMK government’s decision to hike the bus fare, the presence of Udhayanidhi Stalin at the demonstration was hard to miss. 

It was probably the first time that Udhay, then an actor who ran a successful production house Red Giant Movies, appeared on a political stage.

Udhay leading the protest was intriguing for more reasons than one as it came within two years of his father M K Stalin’s assertion that no immediate family member of his will take the political plunge. 

The 46-year-old actor-turned-politician began making cameo appearances for about a year until he was designated as a “star campaigner” of the DMK in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Within two months, Udhay, with no experience in politics, was named as the youth wing secretary in July 2019 by his father Stalin who had by then taken over as DMK President. 

Udhay’s rise in DMK

Thus began Udhay’s unprecedented ascent in the DMK and politics. Since 2019, Udhay has had four promotions within the party and in the Stalin-led dispensation, with no parallel even within the Muthuvel Karunanidhi family. 

Stalin’s rise to the top of the ticket in the DMK was no smooth affair with his elder brother M K Alagiri playing the spoilsport every time their father Karunanidhi contemplated a promotion for his younger son. In contrast, Udhay has never had any opposition over his meteoric rise in the DMK or in government, even from his aunt Kanimozhi, the party’s national face. 

From the youth wing chief in 2019, he was given a ticket from Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni in the 2021 assembly elections which he won by a wide margin. Within 18 months, Udhay was up for another promotion when he was inducted into Stalin’s cabinet as sports minister with additional charge of Special Programme Implementation. 

And 21 months later, Udhay is now the deputy chief minister, the no 2 in government, next only to his father, a development that charts out the DMK’s succession plan.

Though he got back-to-back promotions, one would always question whether he would be firmly rooted to the Dravidian ideology like his father and grandfather. 

Sanatana Dharma comments

 He partly answered the question when he firmly stood by his statement that Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated from society, after a massive outrage from BJP. The statement on Sanatana Dharma did put Udhay in the national limelight and embarrassed the DMK and its ally Congress, which took pains to explain that it wasn’t in agreement with the remarks. 

 Though the formal announcement has come only now, Udhay has long been the de-facto leader in the party and in the government for he stepped into stand-by for his father whenever he couldn’t attend events owing to his health.

The incoming deputy chief minister is also part of a five-member Coordination Committee of senior leaders that devises strategy for the 2026 elections, making him an integral part of the decision-making process.

 To his credit, Udhay did work for the party by actively campaigning for about six months in the run-up to the 2021 assembly elections, strengthened the youth wing, and travelled across the state to monitor the progress of flagship welfare schemes implemented by his government.

‘Criticism unwarranted’ 

 Party leaders say the criticism against Udhayanidhi about his rapid rise as “unwarranted” by pointing to his track record as youth wing chief and a minister. 

 “Udhay understands his rise in the DMK was no less than spectacular. That is the reason he settled for Sports, a low-profile portfolio. He travels across the state and utilises these visits to meet party men. Udhay gives cadres a patient hearing and wants to blunt the dynastic politics criticism through work,” a DMK leader close to Udhay told DH.

 The leaders also say Udhay’s one-liners and his holding of a brick in his hand to tear into the AIADMK-BJP alliance in the 2021 polls added heft to the party’s campaign. “Can anyone claim that his campaign didn’t work for the DMK? It is a fact that his strategy worked, and he continues to draw crowds,” another leader said. 

The AIIMS campaign

 “This is the AIIMS that they have built. Do we need such a government?” Udhay asked a cheerful crowd by holding a brick in his hand in the last week of March 2021, which heralded his arrival as a politician.

 The red brick, Udhay told the public, was the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai, mocking the AIADMK-BJP combine and accusing it of failing to walk the talk. “I found just this brick when I went there,” Udhay said, pointing to the fact no construction took place after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone in 2019. 

The strategy became an instant hit with Udhay flashing the brick in campaign stops. In places where he didn’t show the brick, the crowd asked him, “Where is AIIMS (brick)?”