Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin was on Thursday appointed secretary of the party’s youth wing, PTI reported. The post is said to be a powerful one since MK Stalin held it for around 35 years.

Actor-producer Udhayanidhi Stalin is also the managing director of party mouthpiece Murasoli, founded by his grandfather and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

He replaces former minister in the previous DMK government Vellakovil Saminathan. Saminathan was appointed to the post after Stalin stepped down in 2017.

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“Saminathan has been relieved and Udhayanidhi has been appointed as per Rule 18 and 19 of the party,” said party General Secretary K Anbazhagan in a press release. All other office bearers of the wing would work under Udhayanidhi, it added.

Udhayanidhi also actively participated in the DMK’s election campaign in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections and bye-polls to 22 Assembly constituencies. His prospects to take over the youth wing had brightened after the party’s success in the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, where it secured 37 of the 38 seats in the state.

The 42-year-old actor is one of many members of the Karunanidhi family to get a key position in the party. MK Stalin’s sister Kanimozhi is a Lok Sabha parliamentarian, his nephew Dayanidhi Maran is a three-time parliamentarian and former union minister. His elder brother MK Alagiri was a parliamentarian but was later expelled by Karunanidhi for anti-party activities and slanderous attacks on party seniors.

However, the party dismissed speculation that he was appointed because of his lineage. “There is no such thing called dynasty, the party has picked the deserving member,” DMK organising secretary and Rajya Sabha MP RS Bharathi told The Indian Express. “A youth-wing needs an able leader and Udhayanidhi is the right choice. He has worked so hard for the party, the election results are proof of his caliber. None of the opposition members can claim this as dynasty politics.”