Heir apparent is here, apparent: On-the-move Udhayanidhi Stalin launches a bike rally

Both have allowed Udhayanidhi a chance to showcase success. On the party side, he has visited around 40 of the 70 organisational units across the state, the trips a mix of official and party duties, such as attending District Collectorate meetings to assess the success of special programmes, amidst interaction with party cadres. On the government side, as Sports and Special Programmes Minister (apart from heading the DMK youth wing), Udhayanidhi is the face of the DMK Ministry’s initiative to build mini-stadiums across all the constituencies of the state, and its scheme to provide Rs 1,000 monthly income to women heads of families.

The Sports Department has identified sites for stadiums in 10 locations and started work there. Official sources said they are aiming to complete at least 200 stadiums before the 2026 Assembly polls. There have been several high-visibility events such as the Chess Olympiad, the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament, and India’s first night race of the F4 Indian Championship, while the Indian Racing League is coming up in Chennai next month.

The DMK also scored a political point when it offered to provide training facilities to sportspersons from Manipur amidst the disturbance there.

The money scheme for women was started in September and now has 1.14 crore beneficiaries, with minimal glitches so far. Three instalments totalling Rs 3,000 have been disbursed to beneficiaries in the last 55 days already.

It’s anybody’s guess how being the CM’s son has benefited the ventures under Udhayanidhi.

Alongside, Udhayanidhi has eased into his rising party role. During his visits to the DMK’s organisational units, where he comes bearing gifts, he ends up addressing large gatherings of party veterans, most of them in their 60s. The party hence is getting used to seeing Udhayanidhi around.

A source who is in the know regarding these trips of Udhayanidhi says the DMK leader genuinely wants to maintain a link to the cadres. “In any organisation, people who do the legwork are rarely rewarded, with power and positions cornered by the faces who win elections… In one of our early interactions, what seemed to bother Udhayanidhi much was how governments and ruling parties become unpopular in less than five years of a tenure. His reasoning was that this was because parties abandoned their ordinary cadres after winning… He came up with the idea of reaching out to party veterans in his trips to districts, including individual photos with them, and a gift basket, Rs 10,000 ‘pocket money’, besides a shawl and dhoti, as a way of saying thanks. It means a lot to party workers,” says the source.

The leader adds that there has been warm response as most of the hardcore DMK supporters have never seen Stalin or even Karunanidhi in such close proximity. “When their own family members ask what they have gained from the party after working for it for decades, having had a personal meeting with Udhayanidhi, a selfie with him, gives them a standing,” the source says.

The outreach has been as strong at the other end of the spectrum, in Udhayanidhi’s role as youth wing leader. His DMK supporters point to the fact that he is holding the next youth wing conference in Salem, located in the Kongu region of Western Tamil Nadu where 10 of 11 seats were won by the AIADMK alliance in 2021, even amidst the wave in favour of the DMK. Salem is the native place of AIADMK general secretary and former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami.

The theme of the conference is ‘Retrieving State Rights’, which is in line with the DMK’s attack against the BJP-led Centre of appropriating the powers of states.

The bike rally that Udhayanidhi embarked on from Kanyakumari on Wednesday – with each organisational district split into four zones, and each zone to see a 50 two-wheeler rally at least – will also emphasise the importance of the youth wing conference.

கோட்சே தூக்கிலிடப்பட்ட இந்நாளில், கோட்சேவின் பேரன்களுக்கு எதிராக பெரியாரின் பேரன்கள் கன்னியாகுமரி காந்தி மண்டபத்திலிருந்து புறப்படுகிறோம்!

மாநில உரிமை மீட்புக்கான கழக இளைஞர் அணியின் 2 ஆவது மாநில மாநாடு சேலத்தில் டிசம்பர் 17 ஆம் தேதி நடைபெறவுள்ளது. இந்த முக்கியத்துவமிக்க… pic.twitter.com/0eYNAdiXAu

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) November 15, 2023

A senior DMK leader says Udhayanidhi is “passionate”, “handling issues more easily than his father”. “Even as everything is gifted to him on a silver platter… when it comes to reactions and taking random questions, he is a step above his father. Stalin is not as spontaneous or strong in quick replies,” the leader says.

A friend from a non-political background says Udhayanidhi took the right call to branch out from the film industry when he did. “The question finally is not about his emergence but his functioning. He has done good so far in making use of all the chances at his disposal. He countered successfully when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP ministers targeted him over the Sanatan Dharma remarks,” says the friend.

Going on to draw a cricket analogy to talk about the row, the friend adds: “Udhayanidhi is like the sixth bowler in a cricket team who is suddenly being treated like the main bowler by the rival team.”

However, not all challenge to Udhayanidhi has died down. Last April, Palanivel Thiagararajan lost his job as finance minister soon after he was caught on an audio recording, purportedly featuring him, discussing how Udhayanidhi and his brother-in-law Sabareesan had made money through corrupt practices.

Plus, the DMK succession issue might still flare up, though both Udhayanidhi’s aunt Kanimozhi, an MP, and A Raja, an ideologically sound leader with powerful oratorical skills, seem to have taken a back seat.

Perhaps the biggest apprehension though is that Udhayanidhi might come under increasing scrutiny by Central agencies as his clout rises. Already, key figures close to CM Stalin are facing action, such as Excise Minister V Senthil Balaji, and DMK veterans K Ponmudy, Duraimurugan and E V Velu.

A senior DMK minister admits Udhyananidhi could be vulnerable on that account. The DMK scion has several business interests linked to him, particularly the Red Giant production house that virtually controls the Tamil Nadu film industry, and an Udhayanidhi Foundation that has been largely idle.