Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLA and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s son, Udhayanidhi Stalin was sworn in as the state’s deputy chief minister on Sunday, September 29, as part of a cabinet reshuffling.
Udhayanidhi Stalin handles the youth welfare, sports development, rural indebtedness, special programme implementation department and poverty alleviation programme portfolios in the Tamil Nadu ministry.
The ruling DMK’s rank and file had been seeking 46 year-old Udhayanidhi’s promotion with an eye on the 2026 Assembly polls in the state, which the party is keen to win and retain power in the state.
Equally notable in the reshuffle was Senthil Balaji’s return. Ever since he walked out of the jail on Thursday, speculations were rife about his return to the Stalin-led ministry in an imminent reshuffle. The CM himself has dropped adequate hints of a cabinet reshuffle over the past many days.
Besides Balaji, Dr Govi Chezhiaan, R Rajendran and S M Nasar have been inducted in the cabinet. Nasar was dropped as Milk and Dairy Development minister in an earlier cabinet reshuffle.
Further, Minister for Higher Education, Dr K Ponmudy, is now Minister for Forests.
As part of the excercise, the portfolios of many ministers were also changed.
Environment Minister Siva V Meyyanathan is Minister for Backward Classes while Dr M Mathiventhan, currently holding the Forests portfolio, has been given Adi Dravidar Welfare.
Finance Minster Thangam Thennarasu has been given additional portfolio of Environment and Climate Change. R S Rajakannappan, holding Backward Classes Welfare portfolio, is Milk and Dairy Development and Khadi minister.
(With inputs from agencies)
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