With C Joseph Vijay taking over as Tamil Nadu’s new Chief Minister, the fledgling TVK government is still finding its feet, with the political spotlight rapidly shifting from the swearing-in spectacle to questions over stability, governance and coalition arithmetic.
Amid speculation over cabinet portfolios, friction within the AIADMK and criticism from the DMK over delayed welfare promises, senior TVK leader and newly-inducted minister KG Arunraj has defended the new dispensation, insisting that the Vijay-led government is “strong, honest and corruption-free”.
Ideology of the soil
Arunraj, who spent 15 years in the civil services before plunging into politics, said his decision to join TVK was neither impulsive nor opportunistic. “Politics was my long-term passion,” he said, arguing that TVK’s success stemmed from a combination of Vijay’s charisma and the party’s “strong ideological grounding”.
According to him, TVK succeeded because it spoke “the ideology of the soil”, rooted in secularism and social justice.
In a pointed swipe at earlier actor-led political experiments in Tamil Nadu, Arunraj said many popular actors failed politically because of “ideological confusion”. Vijay, he argued, had consciously invoked leaders such as Periyar, Ambedkar, Kamaraj, Anjalai Ammal and Velu Nachiyar to strike an emotional chord with voters.
Interestingly, Arunraj revealed that he was once a diehard fan of Rajinikanth, not Vijay. But a meeting with Vijay during his IRS training days in 2011 changed his perception entirely.
“At that time, I wanted to meet him with an open mind. But after that meeting, I became a huge fan of Vijay as a human being. He is humble, simple and down-to-earth,” Arunraj said, adding that despite Vijay’s meteoric rise in cinema and now politics, “he remains the same”.
TN’s finances
The conversation soon turned to the biggest governance challenge facing the new administration: Tamil Nadu’s finances.
In his inaugural address at Chennai’s Nehru Stadium, Vijay had alleged that the previous DMK government left behind a debt burden of nearly Rs 10 lakh crore. The Opposition, however, countered that the debt remains within FRBM limits and accused the TVK government of using fiscal stress as an excuse to delay poll promises such as the much-publicised Rs 2,500 monthly scheme.
Defending Vijay’s remarks, Arunraj said the government first needed time to understand the “real fiscal situation” before rolling out welfare measures.
“Looking from outside is different from having actual knowledge of the state’s finances,” he said, adding that the government would soon release a white paper detailing Tamil Nadu’s fiscal position.
While he stopped short of announcing a timeline for the Rs 2,500 scheme, Arunraj repeatedly stressed that TVK was “very sincere and honest” in its intent and would implement promises in phases.
First controversy
The first major controversy of the Vijay administration involved the appointment and swift removal of astrologer Radhan Pandit as Officer on Special Duty.
Arunraj defended the move, insisting that Pandit was not appointed for astrological advice but for his “political insights and inputs”. He argued that people often ignored the “multiple dimensions” of an individual’s personality.
However, he also said Vijay’s decision to rescind the appointment after criticism reflected “maturity” and responsiveness to public opinion.
AIADMK’s internal feud
On the increasingly messy internal feud within the AIADMK, Arunraj firmly rejected allegations that TVK was attempting to engineer a split. The DMK has accused Vijay of holding backchannel talks with sections of the AIADMK, particularly the faction led by CV Shanmugam.
“The split is because of their bad electoral results and their own internal issues,” Arunraj said, but admitted that TVK’s rise indirectly contributed to the turmoil because “people rejected that party and chose TVK”.
The minister also dismissed claims that the Vijay government was surviving on fragile numbers despite receiving outside support from parties such as the VCK and Left. “We are comfortably above the majority mark,” he asserted, claiming that allies backed TVK because of its ideological clarity and commitment to clean governance.
Interestingly, Arunraj suggested that even if a political crisis were to emerge in the future, TVK would not hesitate to seek a fresh mandate. “If at all such a scenario arises, we will go back to the people,” he said confidently.
Cabinet portfolios
Questions also remain over whether outside supporters such as the VCK, Left parties and Congress could eventually seek ministerial berths in the government. Arunraj maintained that discussions were still evolving and described the current arrangement as “dynamic”, leaving the door open for future negotiations.
On speculation surrounding cabinet portfolios, including chatter that he himself could become finance minister because of his IRS background, Arunraj refused to reveal anything, saying portfolio allocation was entirely the Chief Minister’s prerogative.
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