Deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday brought his son Inbanidhi to flag off the Jallikattu (bull taming) festival in Madurai, drawing the ire of Tamil Nadu’s opposition parties over dynasty politics as they alleged that ruling DMK leaders were fawning over the father and son.
“What does dynastic politics look like?” Tamil Nadu’s main opposition AIADMK posted on X. The answer is in the photo, the party said, posting a photo of Udhayanidhi, Inbanidhi and minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) watching the event, while everyone else was on their feet.
BJP state president K Annamalai posted a video on X to say that Udhayanidhi removed Madurai district collector MS Sangeetha from the stage to allow Inbanidhi’s friends to occupy space on the stage.
“This is to be strongly condemned,” Annamalai said. “Making a woman district collector to get up from her chair for the sake of the friends of the deputy chief minister’s son is an abuse of power worse than the DMK’s 2006-2011 rule, which was Tamil Nadu’s darkest days.”
However, the visuals he posted seemed contrary to his allegation. Udhayanidhi and the collector are seen sitting next to each other with their backs facing one another. The IAS officer is seen getting up at her own will and gives the chair to a young man.
{{/usCountry}}However, the visuals he posted seemed contrary to his allegation. Udhayanidhi and the collector are seen sitting next to each other with their backs facing one another. The IAS officer is seen getting up at her own will and gives the chair to a young man.
{{/usCountry}}The DMK took a stand not to comment on the issue. “They are trying to politicise every small incident and if we comment on it, it will only give them ammunition,” a DMK leader said, not wishing to be named.
The criticism over dynastic politics also stems from when on January 14, Udhayanidhi’s family visited his father and chief minister MK Stalins’s residence for the harvest festival of Pongal. Here, Inbanidhi was also seen wearing the DMK’s youth wing t-shirt (a white collared t-shirt with the symbol of the party’s youth wing) which his father Udhayanidhi heads. Udhayanidhi, who is also the sports minister, has made it a point to wear the T-shirt in all government functions so much that a PIL was filed in the Madras high court last year stating he violated a government “dress code” and sought direction for him to wear formal Indian or western clothes. The court dismissed the plea.
The line of succession in the DMK has followed a pattern where Stalin was the youth wing leader until the party’s patriarch and five time chief minister late M Karunanidhi’s demise. Udhayanidhi, 46, a first-time legislator entered active politics just five years ago and has been the DMK’s youth wing president before he was elevated as deputy chief minister in September 2024. His rise in politics has been meteoric amidst widespread criticism of dynasty politics.
This year at the Jallikattu festival, 1,000 bulls and 500 bull-taming participants have registered for the event. Over 10 rounds, 50 participants are allowed in each round. The top performers from each round will qualify for the final round, where the best bulls and tamers will be selected.
Animal Welfare Board representatives and officials from the Livestock Department will oversee the well-being of the bulls.