The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin has been the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party since 28 August 2018.

[20][21][22] He was beaten up in custody and a fellow DMK prisoner C. Chittibabu died of injuries and police torture while protecting him.

[29] During his tenure as mayor, Stalin modernised the garbage disposal system of the city of Chennai by giving priority to cleaning works.

[35] However, the then Chief Minister J. 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 elected Thousand Lights MLA) in a move widely seen as aimed at removing him as Chennai's mayor.

[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.

[48] A new economic advisory council was set up with leading economists, including Esther Duflo, Raghuram Rajan, Jean Drèze, Arvind Subramanian, and former Finance Secretary S Narayan.

[50] Stalin handed over appointment orders of the HR & CE Department to trained aspirants of all castes as temple priests in August 2021.

[56][57] In May 2022, Stalin hailed the release of Perarivalan, convicted in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, and hugged him on his visit of gratitude at the Chennai Airport.

Experts and journalist Govi Lenin called the scheme a direct reflection of the DMK's core principle, 'Makkalidam Sel' (Go to the People) coined by the party's founding member, C. N.

[65] Stalin released Tamil Nadu's first ever agricultural budget on 14 August 2021, which was dedicated to farmers protesting against the farm laws passed by the Union Government.

[66] Under the budget, the newly launched ‘Kalaignarin Anaithu Grama Orunginaindha Velan Valarchi Thittam’, has been introduced to convert wasteland into cultivable land.

[67] Stalin launched the ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ scheme on 19 October 2021, notably India's largest volunteer-based education program”, where over 3.3 million students across 92,000 habitations are being taught by 200,000 women volunteers for 90 minutes every day.

[70] Stalin launched ‘Innuyir Kappom-Nammai Kakkum 48’ on 18 November 2021 through which the State government will bear the expenses of emergency care for accident victims for the first 48 hours.

All persons injured in road accidents whether they are covered or not under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS), or even those who belong to other States or countries that occur in Tamil Nadu limits would receive treatment for the first 48 hours free of charge.

It will also update the Chief Minister on the water storage level in key dams, rainfall patterns, daily report on crimes, progress of housing schemes, employment trends, civil supplies in the State.

Stalin launched the ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme, on 1 March 2022, which aims to equip about 10 lakh youth across the State annually with skills that will help them realise their talents for the benefit of the country.

[76] The scheme aims to identify, train and offer career and academic guidance to talented students in government-run and State-aided educational institutions.

[79] Stalin launched the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance scheme titled 'Pudhumai Penn' at a function in Chennai on 5 September 2022, in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The scheme is set to improve the nutritional status of students, eliminate deficiencies such as malnutrition and anaemia, and encourage children in poor households to attend schools.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, economist; Nandan M Nilekani, co-founder and chairman of Infosys Board; Erik Solheim,[85] Sixth Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme; Dr Ramesh Ramachandran, founder-director of National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management; G Sundarrajan, co-ordinator of Poovulagin Nanbargal) and Nirmala Raja, Chairperson, Ramco Community Services are among the members.

[87] The terms of reference of the GCCC includes providing guidance to the Climate Change Mission and long-term climate-resilient development pathways, strategies and action plan which will help improve livelihoods, social and economic well-being and responsible environmental management.

The council will evaluate the efficacy of existing policies on climate change and learn from sustainable practices across the country and the world for suitable adaptation.

[89] Stalin maintained that the move will fulfill the dream of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, and Periyar who wanted people of all castes to become temple priests.

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.

[92] On 2 September 2021 the actor turned former Union Minister Chiranjeevi met with Stalin to commend him on governance efficacy and said he proved his mettle in handling the grave situation of COVID-19 pandemic.

The media houses in Kerala lauded Stalin on his policies and efforts in controlling the spread of COVID-19 during the second wave, provision of free bus pass for women and ₹4,000 as a pandemic relief for ration card holders.

[93] The Shiv Sena Parliamentarian Sanjay Raut, in his weekly column Rokthok in party mouthpiece Saamana praised Stalin's governance style and criticised the centre's move to omit Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana 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 the AIADMK, to ensure public money is not being spent on political vendetta.

[94] 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.