Udhayanidhi to be made TN Deputy CM in Aug first week: Reports

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin is reportedly likely to be promoted to the post of Deputy Chief Minister of the state in the first week of next month.

Udhayanidhi is currently the Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development and DMK’s youth wing leader. He is the MLA from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency.

What party insiders say

DMK cadres and leaders also want Udhayanidhi to be elevated as DyCM, a move which will be a “huge advantage” for the party in the 2026 Assembly elections, a senior party leader told news agency PTI.

However, DMK Organising Secretary RS Bharathi made it clear that party president and CM Stalin will take the final call on the matter. “Chief Minister MK Stalin has to decide on the elevation of Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy CM. This will definitely be announced when it happens,” Bharathi said.

Key figure

Udhayanidhi played a crucial role in the 2021 Assembly election, which ended a decade of AIADMK rule in the state.

His poll campaign displaying a brick to signify that the Centre had not initiated any work on the AIIMS project that was promised for Madurai had a big impact in bolstering the party’s winning prospects at the hustings. He also campaigned effectively for the party in the 2024 Lok Saba election.

In father’s footsteps?

According to a report in The Indian Express, Udhayanidhi sought this appointment to rise up the ranks and help his father manage the state’s governance, especially in view of the 2026 Assembly elections.

However, Stalin had dismissed reports about Udhayanidhi’s promotion as “rumours” only a few months ago. Stalin himself had become the Deputy CM similarly, after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. He had served as Deputy Chief Minister from 2009 to 2011 when Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister.

Plan delayed twice

Apparently, plans to make Udhayanidhi the Deputy CM had to be postponed twice this year. First, the Sanatana Dharma controversy erupted in January, for which he got a rap from the Supreme Court. Udhayanidhi had likened Sanatana Dharma with “malaria” and “dengue” and called for its eradication.

More recently, the DMK government once again faced flak because of the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy. At least 65 people died after drinking spurious liquor in Kallakurichi district in June.

Udhayanidhi was sworn in as a minister of Stalin’s Cabinet in December 2022.