Chennai: On 27 November last year, members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) gifted gold rings to babies born in many of Tamil Nadu’s government hospitals. They also organised blood donation camps, boating competitions, gave new uniforms to auto rickshaw drivers, and distributed rations and blankets to the underprivileged. Some DMK members even went skydiving.
The reason for this grand display was to mark the birthday of 45-year-old Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and grandson of DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi.
A film-star-turned politician, Udhayanidhi won his first assembly election in 2021. Just over a year later, in December 2022, he was sworn in as a minister in his father’s cabinet, cementing his role as a rising star in the DMK.
Despite his political lineage, Stalin Jr has a style of his own. For instance, he is often seen sporting jeans and a white shirt adorned with the DMK’s symbol, a rising sun, in contrast to his father’s standard attire of a white veshti and shirt.
And while both M.K. Stalin and Karunanidhi could be described as commanding, he tends to be more casual.
DMK cadres don’t seem to mind. “He doesn’t have the eloquence of his grandfather, or deliver speeches like his father. His speeches are mostly like conversations. But that is what attracts us to him,” said a DMK youth wing member.
However, ever since he was inducted into his father’s cabinet, Udhayanidhi Stalin has battled accusations of benefiting from dynasty politics and of being anointed too early.
Despite being a relative political novice, he holds multiple portfolios — Youth Welfare and Sports Development, Poverty Alleviation Programme and Rural Indebtedness, and his father’s pet department, Special Programme Implementation.
So far, his performance as a minister has not been called into question, but another controversy is currently casting a pall.
This week, an unverified audio clip went viral, in which state finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) can purportedly be heard saying that both Udhay, as the scion is known, and Sabre (V. Sabareesan, Stalin’s son in law) “have made more money in one year” and that this has become a “problem”.
The clip has been widely shared by state BJP leaders, including Tamil Nadu party president K. Annamalai. Further, just a week prior to the clip emerging, Annamalai had released a so-called expose of alleged financial misdeeds by Sabareesan. He had also demanded to know who had funded Udhayanidhi’s film production company, Red Giant Movies
Udhayanidhi has sent a legal notice demanding Rs 50 crore compensation for Annamalai’s “defamatory remarks”, but the BJP is yet to react.
As the controversy plays out, senior political analyst Radhakrishnan told ThePrint that Udhayanidhi will have to step up his game if he is to follow in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps.
“Udhay will have to prove himself. He will get a lot of leeway as the son of the thalaivar (leader), but this is only until Stalin is at the helm of affairs,” he said.
However, Ramu Manivannan, professor and head of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Madras, said that even if third-generation leaders came from “home cabinets of power”, they couldn’t always be expected to be like their predecessors.
Here is a look at the swift rise of Udhayanidhi in the political arena and how he is perceived by DMK members, the opposition, and others who have worked with him.
Also read: ‘Made more money…’ — after Annamalai’s ‘expose’, BJP attacks DMK over purported leaked audio of PTR
Powerful legacy, cinematic flair
Until just a couple of years ago, Udhayanidhi was best known to the people of Tamil Nadu as an actor and film producer. To most, he was recognisable as the silver screen heartthrob who valiantly rescued Aditi Rao Hydari in Psycho or the upright cop in Nenjuku Needhi, among many other memorable roles.
While Udhayanidhi’s political journey had started in 2019 as the DMK’s youth wing leader, it was only in March 2021, just ahead of the assembly elections, that he came to the fore as a presence to be reckoned with. But here, too, his showmanship set him apart.
Speaking to ThePrint, former DMK MP T.K.S. Elangovan said “Udhay contributed cinematic flair” to the party’s rallies.
One such moment was when Udhayanidhi, then the DMK youth wing secretary, turned up for a campaign rally with a red brick in his hand. He sarcastically told the crowd that the brick was Madurai’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This was a jibe at the Narendra Modi-led Union government — the PM had laid the institute’s foundation stone in January 2019, but construction was yet to start.
“He was very unlike other ordinary speakers. Wherever he spoke people loved him,” Elangovan added.
Crowd-pulling power aside, Udhayanidhi’s organisational skills were noticed within the DMK soon after he took over as youth wing leader in 2019, a position that his father had held for close to 35 years until 2017.
Udhayanidhi was credited for getting 22 lakh new youth wing members enrolled with the party and for strengthening its organisational structure.
“He created a cross-verification process via a call centre that was set up in which each new enrolled person was called to check if he or she voluntarily joined the party,” said Kanchipuram MLA and DMK student wing secretary C.V.M.P. Ezhilarasan.
First-time MLA to minister
In May 2021, Udhayanidhi was elected as the MLA from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency in Chennai by a fat margin of more than 68,000 votes. This was no ordinary seat, but Karunanidhi’s bastion between 1996 and 2011.
However, even as the Stalin-led DMK formed government after a 10-year wait, the second wave of the pandemic left little time for celebration.
Within just three days of the swearing-in ceremony, Tamil Nadu was once again under complete lockdown.
A senior IAS officer who was involved in the state’s Covid crisis management told ThePrint that Udhayanidhi was a regular visitor to the pandemic “war room”.
“During the phase of oxygen shortage, we had a Covid war room to monitor the situation in the state. Udhayanidhi would frequent the war room and stay for several hours to monitor the situation,” the IAS officer said.
While many have questioned Udhayanidhi’s swift leap from first-time MLA to minister holding multiple portfolios, many officials in his departments said he was up for the responsibility.
An IAS officer, who has closely worked with Udhayanidhi in the Youth Welfare and Sports Development and Special Programme Implementation (SPI) departments, told ThePrint that the minister has a “contemporary mindset” and “takes decisions quickly”. At the same time, he noted, Udhayanidhi does not try to rush work.
In the assembly, too, Udhayanidhi with his witty replies has won the hearts of many like-minded fellow legislators.
However, analysts say Udhayanidhi will not be able to always rely on informal speeches and witty remarks, but will have to work harder to make substantive contributions.
“If Udhayanidhi wants to shine in the assembly, then he will have to know not just the DMK’s history, but that of the state and country. His responses should not be like the one he gave S.P. Velumani,” said Chennai-based political analyst Priyan, who goes by a single name.
Earlier this month, when AIADMK leader Velumani had requested in the assembly that MLAs should be given Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match tickets, Udhayanidhi had joked that the demand should be sent to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “He won’t listen to us,” he said.
While DMK leaders had applauded the remark, BJP leaders had accused him of playing divisive politics.
Many ‘firsts’ as sports minister
Udhayanidhi’s first major initiative as sports minister has been the establishment of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Trophy Games, which focuses on identifying and nurturing talent across various sports.
The event, for which Rs 50 crore has been allocated, will bring people of different age groups and from various districts to a state-level platform.
The IAS officer added that Udhayanidhi’s priorities are clear: “State of the art infrastructure facility, revamping existing stadiums, building new stadiums, mini stadiums, providing monetary support for athletes to achieve their target, and most importantly meet them on a daily basis with the aim to interact and encourage.”
@Udhaystalin
Meanwhile, under Udhayanidhi’s watch, Tamil Nadu is set to witness many ‘firsts’ in the sports arena.
Earlier this month, Udhayanidhi announced that Chennai will host the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament from 3-12 August. This, in fact, will be India’s first time hosting the tournament.
Additionally, department sources revealed that the World Surfing League QS 3000 will also take place in Chennai — and India — for the first time.
Furthermore, the state capital will host the Chennai World Squash Cup in June.
In March, Udhayanidhi also met the Prime Minister in Delhi and requested that Tamil Nadu be given an opportunity to host the next Khelo India Games.
Head of ‘powerful’ SPI department
Udhayanidhi’s appointment to head the Special Programme Implementation (SPI) department, which was previously held by CM Stalin, has significantly increased his power in the government, analysts say.
The SPI department is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the implementation of various flagship government schemes and closely collaborates with departments such as Agriculture, Energy, Water, Education, Health, Rural Development, Industry and Infrastructure, according to the Tamil Nadu government website.
The department also oversees the implementation of announcements made by the Chief Minister under Rule 110 in the TN Assembly. Under this controversial rule, a statement or announcement by the CM or another minister cannot be debated or countered by the opposition.
During a visit to Salem earlier this year, Udhayanidhi inaugurated 291 projects worth Rs 105.64 crore and laid the foundation for 11 schemes worth Rs 1.36 crore. He claimed that 70 per cent of the DMK’s election promises had been fulfilled by the government in the last 20 months.
While Udhayanidhi’s appointment in the SPI puts him in a position to supervise other ministers and their respective departments’ progress on fulfilling the DMK’s election promises, there has been no reported friction thus far.
“Many of us know him from his childhood, and we have seen him grow. He has maintained that respect,” said a senior leader of the DMK. “Udhay always addresses elder partymen as anna (big brother).”
Senior IAS officers who work with Udhayanidhi have also mentioned that he regularly reviews and follows up on all major schemes of various departments in SPI. This includes tracking their progress and identifying any bottlenecks.
While there are bi-monthly reviews held at the CM’s level for SPI, Udhayanidhi conducts monthly reviews.
“Each time he attends a meeting, he takes notes. When there is a follow-up review, he refers back to his notes and checks if appropriate action has been taken by the concerned authority,” said the first IAS officer quoted earlier in this report.
‘Man of numbers’, eager to learn
Government officials who work closely with Udhayanidhi in the state secretariat claim that the minister has been more of a patient learner than a self-important son of the CM over the past few months.
“To his team in the office, he has shown that he is here to learn, understand, and act,” a senior IAS officer told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
Another senior official who closely works with the debutant minister said that “Udhayanidhi is a man of numbers” too. “He is very oriented towards the depth that a number can convey,” he added.
As minister, Udhayanidhi is known to hold weekly reviews of each of his departments.
And every time Udhayanidhi is in office, the minister is known to meet any visitor who comes to meet him between 11am and 1pm without the need for a prior appointment, several of his senior secretaries said.
While CM MK Stalin has been conducting his own field reviews, known as Kala Aaivil Mudhalvar, Udhayanidhi accompanies him on some visits and also goes on separate trips. When together, father and son usually share the stage.
Udhayanidhi’s new profile provides him with an opportunity to travel the length and breadth of the state, also presenting political observers with a glimpse to track how the DMK is projecting him as the “next in line”.
“His campaign against Hindi imposition, PM Modi, and BJP has given the DMK an opportunity to put Udhayanidhi in the picture and project him as a mobilser. It is part of the political narrative,” said Ramu Manivannan.
Crowned too soon?
It was in his fourth term as an MLA that MK Stalin was given a cabinet seat. Udhayanidhi, on the other hand, was handed a cabinet position in just about a year and half of becoming an elected representative.
The route map to his elevation was his “impressive performance and campaigning” in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, DMK leaders claim. They also maintain that the decision to elevate Udhayanidhi reflects the wishes of party cadres.
“The party wants a good commander, a leader,” said another senior DMK member
But the opposition feels otherwise.
“The crown of minister came to him only because he is from the Karunanidhi family. It did not come based on merit or years of toiling in public life,” said AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan, speaking to ThePrint.
Amar Prasad Reddy, president of Sports and Skill Development for the state BJP, also criticised Udhayanidhi’s focus on his movie production company.
“He doesn’t have a vision. Udhayanidhi is only interested in photo-ops, he is only thinking about the growth of Red Giant Movies, not the state’s,” Reddy alleged.
Even amid criticism over his elevation, the call for Udhayanidhi’s promotion to deputy chief minister is gaining momentum within the party. “Most likely in a year’s time Udhay’s elevation will happen again and he will be the deputy CM. It will spell doom for the DMK,” said Sathyan.
Analysts, though, believe that a lot rests on Udhayanidhi’s conduct from this point on.
Although he has already gained the party’s support, there is still much for the young politician to learn, according to Priyan.
While people may find his remarks amusing now, “he will have to learn to give more formal responses”, Priyan said. He also noted that while the DMK has elevated Udhayanidhi to a ministerial position, he must also familiarise himself with not only his ministries but also all significant developments in the government.
“Most importantly, he will have to stop his party members from adulating him. He still has a lot to prove and achieve,” Priyan added.
Offering some pragmatic advice, senior political analyst Radhakrishnan said that Udhayanidhi had to adopt two habits of both his grandfather and father: “Udhaya has to learn to start working early and keep up time, two things that both Karunanidhi and Stalin have followed.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Also read: Demand for ban on non-Tamil CSK, IPL tickets & ‘captain Stalin’ — when cricket took over TN assembly