Tamil Nadu: The Likely Elevation Of Udhayanidhi Stalin And The Unlikely Question It Raises

On a day when Shubman Gill was made the vice-captain of the Indian cricket white-ball teams, there was also the news about another vice-captaincy, as it were.

Udhayanidhi Stalin is likely to be made the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is what every news outlet is reporting.

While there was some seeming sense of surprise in Gill's elevation in such a short span of time, no one has been taken aback by the likely promotion of Stalin Jr even though his stint in electoral politics spans just about over three years. 

The difference in our reactions to both the developments perhaps shows that we don't hold our political system to the same (high) standards that we expect our cricketing community to exhibit. 

Gill made his presence felt back in 2018 as the batting spearhead (along with Prithvi Shaw) in India's victorious U-18 World Cup campaign. 

He soon made his senior debut (in one-day internationals) in January 2019, and his international career, despite occasional blips in form, has taken off since then. But still some feel that his promotion as the vice captain is a bit early.

Stalin Jr has no such sceptics. It is only a question of 'when'. But even within the dynastic Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), he being catapulted to the top has been remarkably speedy.

As a warm-up, he was made the party's youth wing secretary in 2019.

Presented the party's ticket to contest his family's pocket borough, Chepauk, in 2021. And in just over a year, in 2022, he was accommodated in his dad's 1.5-year-old ministerial team. And now, the belief, as widely reported in the media, is that he is formally anointed as Stalin's deputy before the latter takes off to the US in August. 

Stalin, as a contrast, was kept in waiting for over 15 years to join his father’s cabinet. He was made a Minister in 2006 — in his fourth term as a legislator.

Stalin’s Health Condition As Seen On Videos

Even though Udhayanidhi's coronation was never in doubt in the family-first DMK, why is there some seeming hurry for the same now? After all, Stalin still has two years (Tamil Nadu Assembly elections will be around April-May 2026) to complete his first full term as the Chief Minister. 

Again, going by what is reported in the mainline media, the Chief Minister Stalin's health condition may be a reason behind this inevitability (Udhayanidhi's elevation) being likely pushed early.

Admittedly, seeing the limited clips of Stalin available in public domain in recent times, it is clear that the Chief Minister is not in the best of shapes.

His walk has become slow and laboured and speech also developed a worrying incoherent drawl in the last one year or so. His interactions (with others) also seem to suggest a disorientation.

Of course, these are just tell-tale signs as seen on video snips. And they could be misleading, too.  But from what we get to see, things aren't all that rosy.

In the event, an official word about the true status of Stalin's health would be of help. But that is unlikely. So, murky rumours and dark gossip get to have a field day. 

On the other hand, it is equally pertinent to ask: how much information about a politico's health does the public have a right to know? 

MGR, Jaya, And The Shroud Of Secrecy Over Their Health

When it comes to leaders' health, Tamil Nadu's track record in parting with legitimate info has always been dubious.

In the 1980s, when the then All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief minister M G Ramachandran's health deteriorated, the public was left guessing and, worse, a cabal of backroom boys of the party handled the state's official affairs.

Even after he returned from the US after a successful operation, MGR's health did not sufficiently recover for him to handle the travails of the big job. But he was propped by his inner team and presented to the state as a working chief minister.

Much later in 2016, even more dubiously, Sasikala and company kept the world in dark over the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa's health for nearly six months as she battled for life in Chennai's Apollo Hospital that had been turned into a security fortress.

No one knows with any amount of certainty as to what transpired really. All manner of conspiracy theories have been flying around since then. It would go down in the state's history as a shady and sordid six months of secrecy.

Parallels With Biden 

But since the US is also coincidentally grappling with speculation over President Joe Biden's health, the larger query of how much health information a politician should reveal to the public deserves discussion. 

Health of an individual, admittedly, is a private matter. For a politician, elaborate disclosure on the issue can possibly be used as a political weapon by his opponents. 

But when one is in the sphere of public service and elected office, one does have a moral obligation to be transparent.  A leader needs to inform the public about how well he or she can actually execute the job they have been elected to. 

Struggling with mental and physical ailments is part of the human condition. We all go through with that in our daily routines and official jobs. But some ailments can be managed without affecting one's work, but some can't be.

What is sure though is that a high-pressure and important job like the state Chief Minister's needs a person whose physical and mental faculties are at their best.

The book The Hidden Campaign - FDR's Health and the 1944 Election is illuminating on this subject. It is about Franklin D Roosevelt running for his fourth term as the US president (the only president to have so many stints) in 1944.

His failing health seemed to hamper his campaign. But a small circle of family members, politicians and advisers ensured that he was re-elected, but he passed away a year later, and it affected the country in many ways.

In the case of Biden now, there are multiple speculative theories on his health condition. It is a free-for-all for fear and gossip mongers there. Fortunately, things aren't that bad in Tamil Nadu.

But with some reports claiming that the Chief Minister will be shortly travelling to the US for some medical treatment, there has been some room for uneasiness.

Before that turns into one full-blown worrying controversy, it may be better for him to come out with a formal official statement. In this circumstance, that would be what the doctor ordered.