Whenever there is a rumour about being shuffled in the Cabinet though his son, Tamil Nadu’s Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, was promoted to Deputy Chief Minister, on Tuesday, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin dropped a pointer about future changes on Tuesday. Stalin was asked the question about the prospective change and Udhayanidhi’s promotion to a higher post, when he exhorted reporters during a trip to his electoral constituency of Kolathur, Chennai. In reply to this, he said, “There will be no disappointment; there will be change,” and he said it in Tamil.
It is not the first time the chief minister has crossed questions on such matters of change. When a similar question was posed in August, Stalin responded that ‘the time is not yet ripe’ for these changes, thereby providing the press something to speculate about.
However, the copyright issue has seen Udhayanidhi himself yield to his father’s decision-making power on the same. When this 46-year-old minister was asked about it on September 18 as to whether his chances have brightened for the elevation, he said, “It is the call of the Chief Minister. The decision is solely his.”
From early 2024, pressure has been building within the party for Udhayanidhi’s promotion. A few days earlier last month, Tamil Nadu Minister R.S.Rajakannapan confidently indicated that party cadres could start calling Udhayanidhi as deputy Chief Minister after August 19, hoping for his next promotion. This was after previous indications from Stalin, especially before the 20 day working visit to the United States, which sought to court investors to the state.
Promotion of Udhayanidhi reached new heights in the following days when, during the celebration of DMK’s 75th anniversary on September 17 ex-Union Minister S.S Palanimanickam openly called Stalin to make Udhayanidhi his deputy as he considers him a good mentor for the young generation of DMK cadres.
Udhayanidhi Stalin is new to political affiliation, and if he is not affiliated with a political party, he contested the MLA elections in 2021 from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni. He became a part of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet at the Ministry of Youth Welfare and Sports.
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