DC Edit | Elevation of Udhayanidhi by DMK looks justifiable

Amidst a hail of bouquets and brickbats, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin designated his son Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had been a Minister in the State since Dec. 2022, as his deputy. Though the move has triggered an uproar among the army of vociferous naysayers, who ramble on social media and other fora, it is a clever and sagacious strike.

Whether the popular criticism over the elevation of the 46-year-old DMK leader in the Cabinet hierarchy stems from ignorance or the sheer impulse to oppose anything that the ruling party does, it misses out on the fact that the well thought out strategy would propel the DMK forward, particularly in these tumultuous times.

For starters, Udhayanidhi Stalin is not a novice in politics or administration. For example, he has proved his mettle as a minister in charge of the department disbursing the Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to poor women, under the Chief Minister’s welfare scheme that has been going on without any hitch or complaint.

In the political arena, too, he has emerged as the DMK’s ideological torch-bearer, having drawn the national attention with his bold and candid remarks on Sanatana Dharma, earning the wrath of many, nationwide. Maybe, he would have to measure his words more carefully now that he has ascended to the status of his father and family’s political heir.

Within the party he has endeared himself to party members at the grassroots level. Otherwise, district level meetings held for party members recently would not have passed resolutions seeking his elevation as Deputy Chief Minister. Even a former Union Minister of State belonging to the party openly advocated the elevation at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the DMK last fortnight. The point is he has already emerged as the most popular leader in the DMK after Stalin and the party top brass has now acknowledged the fact.

The DMK, which has taken upon itself the responsibility of upholding principles like secularism, equality and social justice not just in the State but the entire nation needs to identify, well in advance, a future leader who would ensure continuity and carry forward the party’s 75-year-old legacy that include protecting the State’s rights and keeping communal forces at bay. That it has been done was demonstrated through the elevation of Udhayanidhi Stalin, by ignoring several voices of dissent from outside and prudently taking cognisance of the demand raised within the party.

For, no one can be more competent to choose a future leader than the party’s own cadre and workers. Only by passing the acid test of the party’s grassroots functionaries could a leader win their hearts, which Udhayanidhi achieved through his active participation in the party’s ideology-driven programmes.

Just as he was stepping into the world of politics, the NEET controversy was raging in the State with the death of S. Anitha, a girl from Ariyalur who failed to get admission to medical college despite scoring 1,176 out of 1,200 marks and Udhayanidhi Stalin joined the movement that wanted the scrapping of NEET.

In fact, the first protest that the then newbie politician took part in was against the CAA, which enabled the DMK cadre to recognise his ideological moorings and accept him as a serious political leader. Since then, he has repeatedly proved himself to be a worthy inheritor of the DMK leadership.