Udhayanidhi’s elevation as Deputy CM is ‘family politics’: Palaniswami

Salem: DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s elevation as Deputy Chief Minister is ‘family politics’ and in the 2026 Assembly polls, people will put a ‘full stop’ to it, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said here on Monday.

Palaniswami, the leader of opposition, said there are many in the DMK who have slogged and served their outfit. Several had also been jailed in the past. Chief Minister MK Stalin himself had often mentioned about incarceration of party workers, including himself, under MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) during the Emergency (1975-77), the AIADMK chief said.

Speaking to reporters, he said there are senior Ministers and office-bearers and they are experienced as well and none of them have been elevated as Deputy Chief Minister. Such top positions only go to late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s family.

“Going further, we see that ministers themselves are so servile to say that they are ready to accept even Udhayanidhi’s son Inbanidhi.”

For quite some time, DMK office-bearers and Ministers were saying that Udhayanidhi will be elevated and now CM Stalin has designated his son Udhayanidhi as Deputy CM.

Quoting a Tamil saying, he hinted with sarcasm that nothing is going to change in the state with Udhayanidhi’s rise in the Cabinet.

Answering a related question, he said as far as the DMK is concerned it was all about family politics. Stalin succeeded Karunanidhi. Now the patriarch’s grandson and Chief Minister’s son, Udhayanidhi has become Deputy CM.

“It is family politics. In the next Assembly polls, people will put a full stop to it. This has become like a royal lineage. I think people will not allow governance and power to be stuck within a family leading to state’s degradation.”

To another question on some defending and justifying heirs taking up the mantle, the former CM wondered if someone can repeat something when it was wrong. The DMK had years ago strongly criticised Rajiv Gandhi for following family politics and the same thing was now happening in the DMK.