DMK President MK Stalin (Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin) took oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Friday, 32 years after his electoral debut. Also called Thalapathy by party workers, the 68-year-old leader was sworn in by Governor Banwarilal Purohit at 9.10 am.

Dressed in white shirt and ‘veshti’, Stalin rose to take oath with top DMK leaders in attendance. Seated in the front row were his son Udhayanidhi, daughter Senthamarai and wife Durga, who could be seen wiping away a tear.

MK Stalin, who took over as DMK chief in 2018 after his father K Karunanidhi’s death, has earlier served as the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu from 2009 to 2011.

Alongside MK Stalin, 33 ministers also took oath on Friday, as the DMK president retained senior leaders like Duraimurugan while inducting over a dozen first time ministers. Among those sworn in as ministers are KN Nehru, I Periasamy, K Ponmudi and EV Velu.

Assuming office as Chief Minister for the first time, Stalin will also head the Home ministry and other portfolios including public, general administration, all India services, district revenue officers, special programme implementation and welfare of differently-abled persons, a Raj Bhavan release on Thursday said, reported PTI.

Stalin first electoral win was in 1989 from Thousand Lights Constituency. He had earlier once contested from the same seat but lost.