Tamil Nadu CM Stalin hints at Cabinet reshuffle, Udhaynidhi’s elevation

Amid speculation that his son and sports minister Udhayanidhi would soon be made a deputy chief minister while the Cabinet would go through a reshuffle simultaneously, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Tuesday told reporters that there will be a change and that it won’t be disappointing.

After his visit to his constituency, Kolathur in Chennai, on Tuesday, reporters asked Stalin if there would be a Cabinet reshuffle and if Udhayanidhi would become a deputy chief minister.

“There won’t be disappointment; there will be change” Stalin responded in Tamil.

Earlier in August, when reporters asked him about the same, Stalin had said that the “time is not yet ripe” for the changes.

On September 18, when asked about his elevation, Udhayanidhi said, “It is the individual decision of the chief minister. The decision is solely his (Stalin’s).”

Since January 2024, there has been a collective demand for Udhayanidhi’s elevation. Last month Tamil Nadu minister RS Rajakannapan told reporters, “After August 19, party cadres can call Udhayanidhi deputy chief minister.” At that time, the chief minister had hinted at a Cabinet shuffle prior to him leaving for the US on a 20-day trip to attract investments to the state.

During the DMK’s 75h anniversary celebrations on September 17, former Union minister SS Palanimanickam publicly requested Stalin to consider making Udhayanidhi as his deputy, adding that he can guide the next generation of party cadres.

Udhayanidhi, 46, is a film producer and actor. He became an MLA for the first time after winning from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency in 2021 and was inducted into the Cabinet as sports minister in December 2022.

The DMK leadership is expecting former minister V Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2023, to come out on bail in the near future with his plea pending in the Supreme Court.

“The cabinet reshuffle might happen around the time of his release though we don’t know yet if Balaji may be re-inducted,” said a DMK leader not wishing to be quoted. “If he does not get bail, it is still undecided if there will be a reshuffle,” the leader added.

However, leaders say that Udhayanidhi’s elevation is only a matter of time.