M. K. Stalin | |||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| 8thChief Minister of Tamil Nadu | |||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 7 May 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Governor | Banwarilal Purohit (2021) R. N. Ravi (2021–present) | ||||||||||||||
| Deputy Chief Minister | Udhayanidhi Stalin (2024–present) | ||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Edappadi K. Palaniswami | ||||||||||||||
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| 2ndPresident ofDravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 28 August 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| General Secretary | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | M. Karunanidhi | ||||||||||||||
| Working President of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |||||||||||||||
| In office 4 January 2017 – 28 August 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| President | M. Karunanidhi | ||||||||||||||
| General Secretary | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Position abolished | ||||||||||||||
| 17thLeader of the Opposition ofTamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||
| In office 24 May 2016 – 6 May 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||||||||
| Chief Minister | Jayalalitha O. Panneerselvam Edappadi K Palaniswami | ||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Vijayakanth | ||||||||||||||
| 1stDeputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu | |||||||||||||||
| In office 29 May 2009 – 15 May 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Governor | Surjit Singh Barnala | ||||||||||||||
| Chief Minister | M. Karunanidhi | ||||||||||||||
| Portfolios |
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| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | O. Panneerselvam (in2017) | ||||||||||||||
| Treasurer of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |||||||||||||||
| In office 27 December 2008 – 27 August 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| General Secretary | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Arcot N. Veeraswami | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Durai Murugan | ||||||||||||||
| Cabinet Minister Government of Tamil Nadu | |||||||||||||||
| In office 13 May 2006 – 15 May 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Minister |
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| Chief Minister | M. Karunanidhi | ||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | K. P. Anbalagan | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | P. Mohan | ||||||||||||||
| Deputy Gen.Secretary of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |||||||||||||||
| In office 2 June 2003 – 26 December 2008 | |||||||||||||||
| General Secretary | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | position established | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | position abolished | ||||||||||||||
| 45thMayor of Chennai | |||||||||||||||
| In office 25 October 1996 – 6 September 2002 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | R. Arumugam (in 1973) | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Karate R. Thiagarajan | ||||||||||||||
| Member ofTamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 23 May 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | constituency established | ||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Kolathur | ||||||||||||||
| In office 13 May 1996 – 15 May 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | K. A. Krishnaswamy | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | B. Valarmathi | ||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Thousand Lights | ||||||||||||||
| In office 27 January 1989 – 30 January 1991 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | K. A. Krishnaswamy | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | K. A. Krishnaswamy | ||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Thousand Lights | ||||||||||||||
| Youth wing Secretary ofDravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |||||||||||||||
| In office 20 July 1982 – 6 July 2017 | |||||||||||||||
| General Secretary | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Position Established | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | M. P. Saminathan | ||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||
| Born | Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin (1953-03-01)1 March 1953 (age 72) Madras,Madras State (nowChennai,Tamil Nadu), India | ||||||||||||||
| Political party | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||
| Children | 2, includingUdhayanidhi | ||||||||||||||
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Karunanidhi family | ||||||||||||||
| Residence(s) | 25/9, Chittaranjan Road,Alwarpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India | ||||||||||||||
| Education | Bachelor of Arts | ||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Presidency College, Chennai | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Politician | ||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||
| Website | mkstalin | ||||||||||||||
| Nickname | MKS | ||||||||||||||
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin (/stɑːlɪn,-lin/,Tamil pronunciation:['mut̪ːuʋeːlkaɾuˈɳaːniðisʈaːˈlin]ⓘ, born 1 March 1953) is an Indian politician and former actor serving as the8th and currentChief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 2021. He is the youngest son of the former Chief MinisterM. Karunanidhi, his sonUdhayanidhi serving as deputy chief minister of state under him. Stalin has been the president of theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party since 28 August 2018 , after serving as Acting President of party from 2017 January to 2018 August. He served as the45th Mayor of Chennai from 1996 to 2002 andthe 1stDeputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 2009 to 2011.[1][2] Stalin was placed 24th on the list of India's Most Powerful Personalities in 2022 byThe Indian Express.[3] He was fondly called asThalapathi.
Stalin is the third son of2ndChief Minister of Tamil Nadu andDMK ChiefM. Karunanidhi, and was born to his wife, Dayalu Ammal. Stalin was born in Madras, nowChennai, on 1 March 1953. Karunanidhi was addressing a condolence meeting for Soviet leaderJoseph Stalin, who died only four days after his child was born, and thus decided to name his son after Stalin.[4][5]
Stalin studied at theMadras Christian College Higher Secondary School.[6] He completed a pre-university course at Vivekananda College, and obtained a history degree fromPresidency College, Chennai ofUniversity of Madras in 1973. Stalin was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by Anna University on 1 August 2009.[7][8][9][10]
Stalin married Durga (alias Shantha) on 20 August 1975, and has two children.
His son isUdhayanidhi Stalin, an actor and politician. Udhayanidhi is married toKiruthiga Udhayanidhi, an Indian Tamil film director.
His daughter is Senthamarai Sabareesan, an entrepreneur and educationist. She is the director of Sunshine Schools, Chennai.[11] Senthamarai is married to Sabareesan Vedamurthy, an entrepreneur and political strategist.[12]
Like his father and namesake, Stalin has publicly disclosed that he is an atheist. But he also said that he is not against any religious beliefs.[13][14][15]
His political career began in his early teens when he started the DMK Gopalapuram Youth Wing with several friends.[16] As a 14 year old, he campaigned for his uncle,Murasoli Maran, in the 1967 elections.[17][18] In 1973, Stalin was elected to the General committee of the DMK.[19]
He came to the limelight when he was jailed inCentral Prison, Madras under theMaintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) for protesting against theEmergency in 1976.[20][21][22] He was beaten up in custody and a fellow DMK prisonerC. Chittibabu died of injuries and police torture while protecting him.[23][24][25] He wrote his final year BA exams while in prison.[5] Stalin formed the DMK youth wing. In 1982 Stalin became the youth wing secretary of DMK, a post he held for more than four decades.
In 1968, Stalin started the DMK Youth Wing in Gopalapuram in a barber shop with his friends. In 1983, he transformed the Gopalapuram Youth Wing into a Statewide phenomenon and led the frontal as a Secretary, a position he held for more than four decades. During the early stages of the Youth Wing, he travelled across Tamil Nadu with other members to mentor fellow youth of the state in key areas of active politics at the grassroots level.[26]
| Election | Constituency | Result | Vote % | Majority % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Thousand Lights | Lost | 47.94 | 2.50 |
| 1989 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Thousand Lights | Won | 50.59 | 20.54 |
| 1991 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Thousand Lights | Lost | 39.19 | 17.31 |
| 1996 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Thousand Lights | Won | 69.72 | 46.76 |
| 2001 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Thousand Lights | Won | 51.41 | 7.62 |
| 2006 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Thousand Lights | Won | 46.0 | 2.28 |
| 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Kolathur | Won | 47.7 | 1.92 |
| 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Kolathur | Won | 54.3 | 22.42 |
| 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly election | Kolathur | Won | 60.86 | 40.59 |
Stalin contested the Assembly polls unsuccessfully fromThousand Lights constituency in Chennai. In 1989 Stalin contested Assembly polls from Thousand Lights constituency again, and won.[27] The DMK government got dismissed in 1991 before completing its full five-year term. In 1991, he contested for the third time from the same Assembly constituency, but lost toK. A. Krishnaswamy of the AIADMK. Again in 1996, Stalin won the election as an MLA from the Thousand Lights constituency.
In 2003, Stalin became Deputy General Secretary of the DMK.[16]In 2011 Stalin changed his constituency for the first time in his political career, moving from Thousand Lights toKolathur constituency on the outskirts of Chennai city.[5]
Stalin became the city's first directly elected mayor in 1996.[28] He coined a pet project calledSingara Chennai (Beautiful Chennai), lauded for improving Chennai's infrastructure.[5] His efforts in improving city infrastructure earned him the title ofManagara Thanthai (father of the city).[29]
During his tenure as mayor, Stalin modernised the garbage disposal system ofthe city of Chennai by giving priority to cleaning works. He implemented integrated development projects such as health, public construction and schools. He solved the congestion of the city of Chennai by building huge flyovers.[30] During his first tenure, 9 major flyovers and 49 short bridges were built. He also improved the standard of Corporation Schools to be on par with private schools.[31][32] In addition, parks and fountains were set up at 18 major junctions. 81 parks were cleaned and properly maintained.[33] Saplings were planted at the ChennaiMarina, the second largest beach in the world. The slaughterhouse atPerambur have been modernised to avoid polluting the environment. During his tenure, it was decided to build flyovers on 10 congested roads before the end of his term. ₹95 crores have been allocated for the construction of flyovers. However, 30% of the funds were left over when the flyovers were opened according to him.[34] He was re-elected Mayor for the 2nd time in 2001.[35]
However, the then Chief MinisterJ. Jayalalithaa enacted the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Amendment) Act, in 2002, which prevents a person from holding two elected posts in the government.[32] This law was applied retroactively to Stalin's case (he was an electedThousand Lights MLA) in a move widely seen as aimed at removing him as Chennai's mayor.[36] However, theMadras High Court struck down the law stating that legislative bodies were not "prevented" from making laws affecting the "substantive rights" of persons retrospectively. However, the court held that under Madras (now Chennai) City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, a person cannot be mayor for two consecutive terms, though unlike Stalin, earlier mayors were not directly elected.[29] MK Stalin did not appeal in the Supreme Court.[37]
In the 2006 Assembly Elections, the DMK regained control of the state assembly. Stalin became the Minister for Rural Development and Local Administration in theGovernment of Tamil Nadu and retained this office throughout his term. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the extensive spread of Women Self-Help Groups across the State by establishing 1,75,493 Women SHGs. He also established various comprehensive drinking water projects such as Hogenakkal and Ramanathapuram water schemes.[18][32] In 2008, he became treasurer of DMK.[16]
On 29 May 2009, Stalin was nominated as Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu by GovernorSurjit Singh Barnala.[38] He was first Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
During the 2016 Assembly election, Stalin went on a statewide tour titledNamakku Naame to appeal to the youth. Stalin won theKolathur constituency and was appointed as the opposition leader.[39] In 2017, Stalin went on anotherNamakku Naame tour.[40] In 2018, his father Karunanidhi died, leaving Stalin the president of the DMK.[18]
Stalin formed theSecular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu and led the alliance in 2019 general election in the state.[41][42] The Secular Progressive Alliance won 39 out of 40 Parliament seats, and 12 out of 21 in the Assembly by-election, with 52% of the vote. It was his first victory since taking charge as DMK President.[43][44]
In the2021 Assembly elections, Stalin led the campaign for theSecular Progressive Alliance. They won 159 seats out of 234, with the DMK itself winning an absolute majority with 132 seats. Stalin took his oath as chief minister on 7 May 2021 along with the rest of hiscabinet.[45][46]
Having taken oath amid the second wave of the pandemic, Stalin started a war room to monitor the status of beds, ambulances, and oxygen supply. He attended an SOS call of a lady, spoke with her for 30 minutes, and arranged for her a bed at a hospital.[47] He wore aPPE suit and visited the COVID-19 patients at their wards "against advice" in Government ESI Medical College Hospital.[48] A new economic advisory council was set up with leading economists, includingEsther Duflo,Raghuram Rajan,Jean Drèze,Arvind Subramanian, and former Finance Secretary S Narayan.[49] Tamil Nadu was branded as a state with highest novel coronavirus vaccine wastage in the previous government but the Stalin government made the state to top in the list of states with lowest COVID-19 wastage policy.[50]
Stalin handed over appointment orders of theHR & CE Department to trained aspirants of all castes as temple priests in August 2021.[51] Stalin quoted the reformist leaderPeriyar in an official release which said Periyar fought for equal rights in worship for all those who believe in God.[52] In August 2021, Stalin ranked first among all Chief ministers of India with 42% in favour, in the "Mood of the Nation" survey done by theIndia Today magazine.[53] Stalin changed the name ofSri Lankan Tamil refugee camps to called ‘rehabilitation camps' and said "They are not orphans, we are there for them".[54] In September 2021, he announced that Periyar's birth anniversary will be celebrated as Social Justice Day every year.[55]
In June 2021, Stalin announced that the state law ministry will review the legal cases filed by the previous government. In September 2021, Stalin's government withdrew over 5570 legal cases filed by the previous AIADMK government from the past 10 years against the journalists and theprotestors seeking the repeal of the three farm laws promulgated by the Union government,Citizenship Amendment Act, methane extraction, neutrino project,Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and theChennai-Salem Expressway project.[56][57]
In May 2022, Stalin hailed the release ofPerarivalan, convicted in theassassination of Rajiv Gandhi, and hugged him on his visit of gratitude at theChennai Airport.[58][59][60][61][62]
Stalin's career in the political arena has seen its ups and downs. From a challenger to an emerging pragmatic leader, the people of Tamil Nadu have credited his administrative skills and firm rejection of sycophancy. An example of this was when M.K Stalin asked the Education Minister, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhil not to print his photographs on 65 lakh bags meant for distribution among schoolchildren in the state, opting to retain pictures of his political adversaries from the previous government that had sanctioned the project.[64]
Stalin was commended by domain experts and other ministers across the country for not using public money to enhance his popularity among the “masses”.[65]
On 2 September 2021 the actor turned former Union MinisterChiranjeevi met with Stalin to commend him on governance efficacy and said he proved his mettle in handling the grave situation ofCOVID-19 pandemic. The media houses in Kerala lauded Stalin on his policies and efforts in controlling the spread ofCOVID-19 during the second wave, provision of free bus pass for women and ₹4,000 as a pandemic relief for ration card holders.[66]
TheShiv Sena ParliamentarianSanjay Raut, in his weekly column Rokthok in party mouthpiece Saamana praised Stalin's governance style and criticised the centre's move to omitJawaharlal Nehru andMaulana Abul Kalam Azad’s picture from ICHR’s Independence day poster ‘Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav.’ Raut said the central government is practising the politics of revenge and should learn a lesson from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin, who allowed the distribution of 6.5 million school bags carrying photos of political rivals former chief ministers J Jayalalitha and E Palaniswami of theAIADMK, to ensure public money is not being spent on political vendetta.[67]
Karnataka Chief Minister,Basavaraj Bommai commended Stalin's nuanced policies and continual effort in controlling the spread of COVID-19 at the peak of the second wave.[citation needed]
Actor
Producer
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Leader ofDravida Munnetra Kazhagam 28 August 2018 – Present | Incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |
