DMK cadre wants Udhayanidhi anointed as Tamil Nadu Dy CM
Chennai, July 18
DMK party cadres and leaders want Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi to be elevated as Deputy CM, a move which will be a “huge advantage” for the party in the 2026 Assembly elections, a senior party leader said on Thursday.
Stalin Sr to take call
Seeing Udhayanidhi as Deputy CM is our aspiration too. But it is ultimately the CM who as the party president should decide. — RS Bharathi, DMK Organising secretary
DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi, however, made it clear that party president and CM Stalin will take the final call on the matter. Bharathi’s comments come amid reports about the possible elevation of Udhayanidhi ahead of Stalin’s proposed US visit next month.
Udhayanidhi was made Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development in his father’s Cabinet in December 2022, a year after he won from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni Assembly constituency. He had played a crucial role in the 2021 Assembly elections, which ended a decade of AIADMK rule in the state.
His poll campaign, displaying a brick to signify that the Centre had not initiated any work on the AIIMS project that was promised for Madurai, had a big impact in bolstering the party’s winning prospects at the hustings. He had also campaigned effectively for the party in the 2024 Lok Saba election.
“Chief Minister MK Stalin has to decide on the elevation of minister Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy CM. This will definitely be announced when it happens,” Bharathi said when asked about reports on Udhayanidhi being anointed as deputy to Stalin.
Party cadres and leaders, including seniors like him, want Udhayanidhi to become the Deputy CM, he said, and added: “This is our aspiration too. But it is ultimately the CM who as the party president should decide,” Bharathi said.
Asked if the move would make the DMK gain an upper hand in the next Assembly elections, he said: “It will turn out to be a huge advantage to the party in the 2026 Assembly elections if Udhayanidhi is elevated.”
