Udhayanidhi Stalin: DMK scion stirs up a blockbuster row

In March 2021, at a bazaar in Sattur town of Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu, Udhayanidhi Stalin picked up a brick from his specially designed van, showed it to the crowd and growled:

“This is the AIIMS that they have built. Do we need such a government?”

The crowd erupted and lapped it up.

The red brick, Udhay told the public, was the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that was supposed to be built in Madurai.

Mocking the AIADMK-BJP combine and accusing it of failing to walk the talk, he fumed: “I found just this brick when I went there."

With two weeks left for the Assembly polls, Udhay kept flashing the brick during campaign stops and this strategy, unexpectedly, caught on. In places where he didn't do it, the crowd asked him about the “AIIMS (brick)”.

This piece of drama, as filmy as it can get, was the moment when Udhay endeared himself to the DMK cadre.

Barely three years old in politics then and under pressure to justify his swift rise in the DMK, the ‘brick’ gave him a way out, and the cadre finally began celebrating him as a star campaigner.

But Udhay continued to face one intriguing question: Will he be able to step into the Dravidian mould from being a film hero and whether he has the ideological moorings of the DMK?

The 45-year-old son of Chief Minister M K Stalin might have partly answered these questions with his bromide against Sanatan Dharma on Sept 2, which parachuted him into the national limelight.

A Commerce graduate from Loyola College in Chennai, Udhay looks intense, unlike his father who comes across as serene. 

It is said that he took a plunge into politics in 2018 only at the insistence of his mother, Durga Stalin, a practising Hindu.

Before that, Udhay, an introvert by nature and fond of cars like his father, was not seen much in public despite being an actor and owning a successful production house in Red Giant Movies, which still rules the roost leading to charges of nepotism. His wife Kiruthiga, also a film personality, was much more active in public. 

Though lacking the chutzpah of a seasoned politician and the oratory skills that made his famous grandfather, M Karunanidhi, compelling, his acting skills have helped him shed the initial shyness before the crowds, with his one-liners turning the campaign peppy.

Udhay, who is always clad in a white nylon shirt, with the DMK election symbol Rising Sun engraved on it, and light-coloured trousers, is one of the most influential ministers in the DMK government. For many, he is already the 'chinnavar' (heir apparent).

“He wants to take the DMK and its ideology to the next gen and this (symbol on the shirt) will help achieve the goal,” a leader told DH.

An unconventional politician, Udhay comes across as someone who isn’t very conscious about his public image. Recently, he told an interviewer that he lacked an adequate understanding of social justice even a decade ago, which led him to ignore advice from actor Suriya on removing a dialogue that appeared anti-reservation from the 2011 movie Ezham Arivu.

While supporters believe Udhay has matured as a politician, his critics still call him “playful” and not “serious in his public speeches and conduct” (Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan called him a “bachcha” over his Sanatana Dharma statements).

Udhay is one of the luckiest dynasts as his ascension from the youth wing chief to an MLA and to a minister in just four years didn’t even attract a whimper of opposition, including from his aunt, Kanimozhi. 

DMK leaders say Udhay understands he has had a rapid rise in politics and that’s why he settled for low-profile portfolios like Sports and Special Programme Implementation, which will allow him to travel across the state.

“He utilises these visits to meet party men and gives them a patient hearing. He wants to neutralise the dynastic politics criticism by proving his worth through hard work. As youth wing chief, he resisted pressure from party seniors to appoint their heirs to state-level posts and elevated district functionaries with no family backing to those positions,” a DMK MP told DH.

But Udhay’s critics ask him one question: While he bats for equality, when will he take the avatar of Adhiveeran, the character he played in Maamannan who empowers his Dalit politician-father, to fight for a larger representation of the community within the DMK and voice his unequivocal support when they come under attack from intermediary castes?

His aggressive posturing might help the DMK in Tamil Nadu, which has never voted based on religion, but Udhay may be forced to tone down his criticism of Sanatana Dharma in the coming months as it may hurt allies like the Congress in north India.

Udhay’s supporters may believe this is his moment of reckoning. But it is too early to judge as he is just five years old in politics and still has a long way to go.