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On Thursday, 4 July, DMK Chief MK Stalin’s son, Udhayanidhi, was appointed as the party’s youth wing secretary – a position formerly held by Stalin for 35 years. Members of the ruling AIADMK and the public were quick to point out the deep-seated dynastic politics.
But is Udhayanidhi capable enough to earn the position? Let’s find out.
Who Is Udhayanidhi Stalin?
Udhayanidhi Stalin is the son of DMK President MK Stalin and the grandson of the illustrious late politician M Karunanidhi.
He completed his schooling from Don Bosco and graduated in Visual Communications from Loyala College, Chennai. He is married to Kiruthiga, head of the lifestyle magazine Inbox 1305.
The 42-year-old actor is the managing director of the family-owned Murasoli Trust, which runs the DMK mouthpiece Murasoli, founded by his grandfather and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.
The Hero with the Big Red Banner
Since Karunanidhi’s time, the family has been closely associated with cinema and politics. Karunanidhi penned scripts and created masterpieces like ‘Parasakthi’, ‘Manohara’, ‘Malaikkallan.’ Stalin too, tried his hand at acting in ‘Ore Raththam’ and ‘Makkal Aanayittal’ and even in a TV series.
Udhayanidhi entered the film industry as a film producer and distributor with his production studio, Red Giant Movies. He made the films ‘Kuruvi’, ‘Aadhavan’ and ‘Manmadan Anbu’. As a distributor too, he succeeded in his four 2010 releases: ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa’, ‘Madrasapattinam’, ‘Boss Engira Bhaskaran’ and ‘Mynaa’.
Since his production house was churning out hit films, he decided to partake in the game himself. He made his acting debut in the romantic comedy film, ‘Oru Kal Oru Kannadi’ in 2012. He even won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance. Since then he has been producing and acting in his own films.
Mapping His Political Career?
Last month, former minister Vellakovil Saminathan offered to resign as DMK's youth wing secretary citing ‘personal reasons’.
It was then that Udhayanidhi began his political career: as Secretary of DMK’s youth wing on 4 July.
His appointment has left many wondering what it takes to fill a position as important as the youth wing’s secretary. The necessary qualifications seem to include being the son or the grandson of a politician. Dynasty politics favours kin, who needn’t work their way up from the lowest ranks of the party or envision and work to be people’s leaders.
In fact, Udhayanidhi Stalin is the fourth member of the Karunanidhi family who occupies a key position in the party.
MK Stalin’s sister, Kanimozhi, is a Lok Sabha parliamentarian, his nephew, Dayanidhi Maran, is a three-time parliamentarian and former union minister, and his elder brother, MK Alagiri, has been a parliamentarian too.
“It's not a question of nepotism. Politically, Udhayanidhi Stalin has proved his mettle like his father Stalin... he campaigned extensively in the recently held elections. He should be rewarded for his work,” a senior DMK leader told NDTV.
However, a few members of the party said that though the appointment has disappointed many, neither of them will express disagreement.
“Remember what happened to Vaiko when he was seen as a challenger to MK Stalin. He was expelled and now he would become a parliamentarian only with the help of Stalin. DMK is a family party and only those who can accept this can survive,” a senior leader said, reported NDTV.
This move is not a surprise at all but quite contrary to Stalin’s statement during a Vikatan interview three years ago. He had said, “Neither will my son, nor will my son-in-law join politics. For that matter, I can assure that no one from my family will be joining politics,” as reported by The News Minute.
In the last few years, Stalin has been trying to create the image of a ‘youth icon’ with his Namadhu Namme campaigns and his son seems to be the perfect one to represent the younger generation.
As for Udhayanidhi’s work on the political front? Well, it was only during the recent 2019 Lok Sabha elections, that he campaigned with his father MK Stalin across Tamil Nadu.
His grandfather Karunanidhi was a veteran in cinema and politics. Stalin is proving to be a fair successor in politics and as for cinema, we can’t call his stint a success. But Udhayanidhi is yet to become a good actor. Let’s see how he fares as a politician. With family, anything’s possible, right?
(With inputs from NDTV, The News Minute)
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