Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's elder son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, was sworn in as a minister in the state cabinet on Wednesday, December 14. Referred to as the 'Rising Son' of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) by the party cadre, the 45-year-old, who is an MLA from Chepauk - Thiruvallikeni Assembly constituency has been appointed as the Youth Welfare and Sports Development minister of the state. With his induction, the number of ministers in the state cabinet has now risen to 35. Udhayanidhi was administered the oath of office by Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi in the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in Chennai at 9.30 a.m. and is currently also the DMK's youth wing secretary since 2019 after his father MK Stalin held the post for nearly three decades. 

Chief Minister MK Stalin, Udhayanidhi's spouse Kiruthiga, MPs Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and Dayanidhi Maran, and other DMK ministers were present in the swearing-in ceremony. Taking to Twitter, Udhayanidhi extended his gratitude to his father for the chance to be a member of the state cabinet and wrote, "I thanked the ever-leading Hon'ble Chief Minister MK Stalin for giving me the opportunity to participate in the Dravidian model government cabinet that implements social justice programs and protects the welfare of Tamils. I will always work with responsibility without considering it as a position." 

With Udhayanidhi now taking oath as the Youth Welfare and Sports Development minister, he has also announced the upcoming Tamil film, Maamannan, directed by Mari Selvaraj and featuring music by A. R. Rahman will be his last big venture as an actor and will going forward be fully involved in state politics. He also informed media persons at the swearing-in ceremony that he has opted out of acting in a project under Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International (RKFI) banner. Udhayanidhi is at present producing the Kamal Haasan-starrer Indian 2, which is a joint collaboration between his Red Giant Movies and RKFI banners. Likewise, the actor-producer and politician is also bankrolling the tentatively titled KH 234 starring Kamal Haasan under Mani Ratnam's direction and will be produced by the Red Giant Movies, RKFI, and Madras Talkies banners.