India, April 17 -- Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, popularly known as "Thalapathy", is the incumbent Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party. Born on March 1, 1953, he was named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin by his father, M Karunanidhi, who received news of the leader's death just days before his son's birth.

Stalin assumed office as Chief Minister on May 7, 2021, leading the Secular Progressive Alliance to a landslide victory in the state assembly elections. His political ascent spans over five decades, beginning as a teenage volunteer and culminating in his current role as the primary architect of the DMK's grassroots expansion.

During the 1975-1977 Emergency, Stalin was arrest...