Udhyanidhi Stalin has been named the new sports minister of the state.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's elder son, Udhayanidhi, was sworn in as a cabinet minister today.
Udhyanidhi, referred as 'rising son' of the DMK, has been named the new sports minister of the state.
Udhayanidhi Stalin is MLA from Chepauk - Thiruvallikeni Assembly constituency and enjoys deep-ground support across the state.
Udhayanidhi, also the DMK's youth wing secretary, was administered the oath of office by Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi at Raj Bhavan.
The 45-year-old was appointed the youth wing's secretary in 2019 - a post his father held for nearly three decades.
Stalin became the DMK President in 2018 after his father's M Karunanidhi's death. He became the chief minister after the DMK-led coalition won the assembly elections in 2021.
Udhayanidhi has also played lead roles in several Tamil movies. He emerged as one of the star campaigners in the Tamil Nadu elections last year. He made national headlines as he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during the election campaign.
Sources say Udhayanidhi's elevation had been in store for the past few months and the leadership was waiting for him to complete his acting commitments before he could be inducted into the cabinet as a minister.
The key opposition party in the state, AIADMK, has termed Udhayanidhi's elevation as "dynastic politics", while the DMK maintains that the first time MLA has earned the ministerial berth. The first time MLA has earned praise from his party leaders and workers for taking the DMK's youth wing to new heights.
On dynastic politics charge, Udhayanidhth said, "People have elected me. My work will be my response to the critics".
He said he plans to build a sports stadium in every constituency.
Udhayanidhi said that he would not act in films anymore and Mari Selvaraj directorial 'Maamannan' will be his last. "I have also turned down an offer from actor-producer Kamal Haasan," he told NDTV.