Chepauk MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin was sworn in as a Cabinet minister on Wednesday. His induction into the Cabinet by his father and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin marked the ‘son rise’ in their party DMK.
Udhayanidhi is designated as the Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development in the Tamil Nadu cabinet, as per an official press release.
Despite the long family association with politics, Udhayanidhi is a new entrant in politics as he began his political career in 2019.
Here is everything you need to know about MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, actor-turned-politician
DMK MLA and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin is an actor-producer-turned-politician. Udhayanidhi, 45, is the eldest son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Udhayanidhi joined politics in 2019, two years after the passing away of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and his grandfather M Karunanidhi. Though he joined active politics in the general election in 2019, he made his electoral debut in 2021. He is known for his relentless campaign during the 2021 assembly election and for going hard on the Opposition.
Udhayanidhi was appointed as the youth wing secretary of DMK in July last year after the DMK alliance won the election. At the helm of the youth wing, Udhayanidhi fiercely hit the ground. He protested against NEET exam for medical admission and was involved in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the exam scam in TNPSC. He also took forward his party and state’s protest against the imposition of the Hindi language.
Udhayanidhi is not shy of confronting PM Narendra Modi
Udhayanidhi never shied away from taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he campaigned with a brick on which AIIMS was written. Modi had promised in 2016 to build an AIIMS near Madurai but it never came up.
Udhayanidhi often faced much flak for being born with a silver spoon and perpetuating dynasty politics. His induction into the state cabinet gave air for such attacks.
He told reporters that he would answer these attacks through his work, “Tell me if there are any grievances.”
On the contrary, Udhayanidhi’s party members consider him a true ‘people’s leader’.
Earlier, Udhayanidhi was long associated with production and distribution under his banner, Red Giant Movies. The Alumnus of Loyola College in Chennai, Udhayanidhi's first film as a producer was Kuruvi (2008), starring Vijay and Trisha Krishnan. But as an actor, he debuted as a lead actor in M. Rajesh's romantic comedy Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012), sharing the screen with Hansika Motwani and Santhanam. His role in the film earned him Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance. He went on to act in nearly 15 films.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Udhayanidhi told reporters about retiring from films and becoming a full-time active politician. He said that director Mari Selvaraj's Mamannan would be his last film.
