DMK MLA and son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Udhayanidhi Stalin is likely to be sworn in as a minister in his father’s cabinet on December 14. Udhayanidhi, according to sources, will hold the portfolio of Special Programme Implementation—one of the portfolios held by his father himself.
The other two portfolios, the young DMK scion is likely to be given are Youth Welfare and Sports held by minister Siva V. Meyyanathan and Welfare of Differently Abled Persons which again is held by the chief minister himself.
Udhayanidhi is DMK’s youth wing secretary and MLA from the Chepauk-Thiruvellikeni constituency.
Unlike his father M. Karunanidhi, sources say that Chief minister Stalin, is particular that he inducts his son into the cabinet. “You cannot call it dynasty politics. He is inducted into the cabinet only based on his credentials. He was one of the star campaigners during the election,” a senior leader privy to the developments told The Week.
With Udhayanidhi’s elevation, sources also say that a minor reshuffle in the cabinet is likely. Sources say that portfolios of senior ministers I. Periyasamy, Minister for Co-operation, Statistics and Ex-Servicemen Welfare and KKSSR Ramachandran, Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, might be swapped. It is said that Periyasamy has been unhappy since day one of swearing in because he was not allocated a lucrative portfolio. Periyasamy had not even moved into the minister’s bungalow allocated for him for the past 18 months.
Ever since the DMK came to power, much thrust has been given to two departments—sports and youth welfare and the special programme implementation. The sports department has been buzzing with activity with Tamil Nadu hosting the 44th FIDE chess Olympiad. The special programme implementation department was first started in 2011 after Jayalalithaa bounced back to power. It was then handled by S.P. Velumani, later only to be held by Jayalalithaa herself. This department handles various welfare schemes of the government.
Meanwhile, Udhayanidhi on Saturday after distributing relief materials to people affected by Cyclone Mandous, did not deny reports of his induction into the cabinet. To a question from journalists, he shot back asking, “who told you?” And then said, “any such decision will be taken by the chief minister only.”
