Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday elevated his son and DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin as the deputy chief minister. The announcement came hours after the DMK’s 75thplatinum jubilee celebrations at Kancheepuram district near Chennai.
A press release from Governor R.N. Ravi said that CM Stalin has recommended Udhayanidhi Stalin, currently, the minister for youth welfare and sports development, be assigned the planning and development portfolio in addition to his existing responsibilities and be designated as deputy chief minister.
The Governor has approved the recommendations.
The swearing-in ceremony of the ministers-designate will be held on Sunday at 3.30 pm in Raj Bhavan.
Udhayanidhi has also been given the additional portfolio of planning and development which was held by Stalin himself. DMK's Karur district secretary Senthil Balaji, who recently got bail after 471 days incarceration in a cash-for-job scam case has been re-inducted into the cabinet.
Balaji was holding lucrative portfolios like electricity, excise and prohibition before the Enforcement Directorate arrested him in June 2023.
While his portfolio was held as additional charge by ministers Thangam Thennarasu and Muthusamy, the portfolios of Thenarasu have been shuffled. However, it remains to be seen who will handle these two portfolios.
Also, PTR's Information Technology portfolio has been handed over to Thennarasu, who also holds the finance department. It remains to be seen whether PTR will get any lucrative portfolios.
One of the party seniors K. Ponmudy has been shifted from Higher Education, which goes to newcomer Chezhian, while Rajakannappan has been moved to dairy development, held by Mano Thangaraj.
Three ministers- Gingee Masthan, K. Ramachandran and Mano Thangaraj have been dropped from the cabinet.
New faces like Govi Chezhian and R. Rajendran have been included while Senthil Balaji and S.M. Nasser have been re-inducted. Nasser was once dropped from the cabinet on charges of corruption and non-performance.
This is the fifth cabinet reshuffle since Stalin took over as the chief minister in 2021. While there have been several criticisms against a few of the senior ministers like K.N. Nehru, sources say that the present reshuffle will ensure that the ministers' performance will help the DMK retain power after the 2026 assembly election.