Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, is likely to get more portfolios in the Cabinet revamp that’s expected to be carried out shortly, ThePrint has learnt. Many of these portfolios are likely to be those that M.K. Stalin held when his father M. Karunanidhi was the CM between 2006 and 2011. Reports also suggest Udhayanidhi could be elevated to the position of deputy CM.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, who currently oversees the youth welfare, sports development, special programme implementation department, and poverty alleviation programme and rural indebtedness, is expected to be assigned the municipal administration, and the rural development and panchayat raj departments.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had in 2021 split these departments, which were previously managed by one minister. At that time, municipal administration was assigned to K.N. Nehru, and the rural development and panchayat raj department was given to I. Periyasamy.
Amid reports suggesting that Udhayanidhi could be elevated to the position of deputy CM, DMK sources have indicated that there are two options under consideration regarding the chief minister’s upcoming trip to the US.
“Either he (Udhayanidhi) will be elevated to Deputy CM or he will be asked to take care of the chief minister’s portfolios in the absence of M.K. Stalin,” a highly placed source at Arivalayam told ThePrint.
M.K. Stalin is scheduled to leave India on 22 August, 2024, for a 13-day trip to attract investments. The CM holds several key portfolios, including public, general administration, Indian administration service, Indian police service, Indian forest service, other all India services, district revenue officers, police, home, special initiatives and welfare of differently-abled persons.
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A senior leader within the DMK has stated that there are no contenders or dissenting views regarding Udhayanidhi Stalin’s potential elevation to deputy CM. However, Udhayanidhi himself is hesitant to accept the position.
“He is a bit hesitant about taking up the deputy CM, since it has just been a few days since they have put the controversies over the hooch tragedy and the murder of BSP leader Armstrong to rest. However, it’s still under discussion,” the senior leader said, adding that such an arrangement was being considered because of the law-and-order issue in the state.
“The chief minister’s foreign visit is not new. But, since the law-and-order issue crops up every now and then, he wants to place somebody in his absence to take care of his portfolios,” the senior leader added.
After the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Udhayanidhi was made the secretary of DMK’s youth wing. He contested the 2021 assembly polls from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency and won. He was made a cabinet minister in December 2022.
Cabinet reshuffle
The present Tamil Nadu cabinet has 34 ministers, including the CM. After Senthil Balaji was dropped from the state’s cabinet, a new minister has not been added to the cabinet.
In a series of meetings held at the DMK’s headquarters, the senior leaders have decided to bring in Salem North Constituency MLA R. Rajendran into the cabinet. “It was suggested that the backward classes welfare department be allotted to him. However, the CM is yet to take a final call on it,” the senior leader, privy to the developments in the meetings, told ThePrint.
“Senior Minister K.N. Nehru is likely to be given the mines and minerals department, which is currently being held by Durai Murugan,” the senior leader told ThePrint. The move comes days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) wrote to the State DGP about illegal sand mining in the state.
Portfolios of Ma. Subramanian, S. Muthusamy, R.S. Raja Kannappan, I. Periyasamy, R. Sakkarapani, and E.V. Velu are likely to be shuffled. All these ministers, along with MLA R. Rajendran, were present for the meeting held Wednesday.
Multiple sources in the DMK ThePrint spoke to said that they had expected the cabinet reshuffle to take place soon after the Lok Sabha election results were announced. “However, because of the hooch tragedy and Vikravandi by-polls, it got delayed,” another senior leader in the party said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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