Stalin's son Udhayanidhi named deputy CM, ex-minister Senthil Balaji re-inducted
Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, has been appointed the state's deputy chief minister. The announcement was made on Saturday as part of a major cabinet reshuffle in the state government. The cabinet reshuffle also includes the re-induction of former minister Senthil Balaji into the Tamil Nadu cabinet. Besides Balaji, Dr. Govi Chezhiaan, R Rajendran and SM Nasar have been inducted. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for September 29 at Raj Bhavan, Chennai.
Udhayanidhi's political journey and future prospects
Udhayanidhi has also been given charge of the Planning and Development ministry in addition to his existing Youth Welfare and Sports Development portfolio. Further, Minister for Higher Education, Dr. K Ponmudy, has been named Minister for Forests. Concurrently, Mano Thangaraj, who held the dairy development portfolio, has been dropped. Other names dropped were Gingee Masthan, Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare, and K Ramachandran, Minister for Tourism.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has approved the recommendations
Balaji just got bail
Balaji was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Thursday. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in June 2023 in a money-laundering case. The charges against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader are related to alleged irregularities in the appointment of bus conductors, drivers, and junior engineers in the Tamil Nadu transport department. These accusations date back to his tenure as transport minister for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government from 2011 to 2015.
