Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin could elevate son Udhayanidhi as his deputy, said media reports. A senior party leader had said that the latter's elevation could be "huge advantage" for the DMK in the 2026 assembly elections.
The senior leader said that DMK party cadres and leaders want Udhayanidhi to be elevated to the post of Tamil Nadu's deputy CM.
However, DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi clarified that party president and CM Stalin would hold the final call on the matter.
Bharathi's comments came in the backdrop of reports suggesting Udhyanidhi's possible elevation as deputy CM ahead of Stalin's proposed visit to the United States next month.
Udhayanidhi was appointed as the Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development in CM Stalin's cabinet in December 2022. He was hailed for his role in the 2021 assembly elections, which ended rival AIADMK's decade-long rule in the southern state.
The Tamil Nadu minister had also won from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni assembly constituency in the 2021 elections.
DMK's path to the victory was carved out by Udhayanidhi's poll campaign displaying that no work had been initiated by the Centre towards the AIIMS project that was promised to Madurai.
Not only this, the actor-turned-politician heavily campaigned for the recent 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well, leading to the DMK bagging the maximum number of seats, 22.
“Chief Minister M K Stalin has to decide on the elevation of Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy CM. This will definitely be announced when it happens,” Bharathi said.
Party cadres and leaders including seniors like Bharathi himself also want Udhayanidhi to hold the Deputy CM's post, saying that "this is our aspiration too".
"But it is ultimately the CM who as the party president should decide,” Bharathi told news agency PTI.
The senior DMK leader noted that the move will help the party gain an upper hand in the 2026 polls, saying that “it will turn out to be a huge advantage to the party in the 2026 Assembly elections if Udhayanidhi is elevated.”
Udhayanidhi, the grandson of DMK veteran M Karunanidhi, would create history if he is elevated as the deputy CM. Notably when Karunanidhi was chief minister, Udhayanidhi's father MK Stalin had also served as the deputy CM from 2009 to 2011.
