Udhayanidhi Stalin likely to be sworn in as minister on December 14

Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLA of Chepauk and the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, is likely to be inducted into the Tamil Nadu cabinet as a minister on Wednesday, December 14. According to sources, Udhayanidhi is expected to get two portfolios – Youth Welfare, and Sports Development as well as Special Initiatives Implementation. The Special Initiatives Implementation portfolio has been under the purview of the Chief Minister so far while Siva Meyyanathan is the present Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development. Sources also mention that there is likely to be a cabinet reshuffle to induct Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Udhayanidhi has been holding the post of youth secretary in the DMK since 2019, a post that the current Chief Minister had held from 1982 to 2017. Before Udhayanidhi won Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in 2021, he had been one of the star campaigners for candidates from his party. During his campaign for the elections in 2021, Udhayanidhi ‘attacked’ the Union government for not constructing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai, even though the foundation was laid in 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After he had won the election, Udhayanidhi introduced a robotic sewage cleaner in Chepauk, his constituency. This was the first time a machine to clean the sewers was introduced in Tamil Nadu.

Apart from politics, Udhayanidhi has also played lead roles in various Tamil movies, making his debut in Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (OKOK) in 2012, which was written and directed by M Rajesh. The MLA has been producing films as well including Kuruvi (2008), Aadhavan (2009) and Vanakkam Chennai (2013) among others. He is also expected to produce upcoming films like Indian-2 and Kamal Hassan’s 234th film. Udhayanidhi Stalin has also undertaken distribution of movies including big names like Beast, Vikram, and Ponniyin Selvan-1.