It’s a week since C Joseph Vijay took oath as the 13th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the first in nearly six decades to come from outside the DMK-AIADMK duopoly.
Vijay arrived at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat in a blazer over a white shirt and dark trousers, departing from the white veshti that has long been standard political attire in the state. Since then, Vijay has become a talking point on social media, and every move he has made has been scrutinised by his critics and celebrated by his fans and followers.
Day one orders: Power, drugs and women’s safety
Within hours of assuming charge, Vijay signed his first three government orders. The first expanded the state’s free electricity scheme to 200 units for domestic consumers, applicable to households consuming up to 500 units in a two-month billing cycle.
The second directed the formation of 65 dedicated anti-drug task force units across all districts. The third established a new all-women special force, details of which were fleshed out in a separate order the following day.
Also Read: ‘I won’t stoop so low’: Rajinikanth rejects mediating post-election alliance to block CM Vijay
Singapen safety crew
The Women’s Safety Unit was formally constituted as the Singapen Sirappu Athiradi Padai, singapore meaning lioness in Tamil (Singapennae… is also a hit song from his 2019 film Bigil). The force is mandated to function exclusively on crimes against women and is to be set up in every district of the state.
The Director General of Police has been directed to begin the formal procedures to operationalise it. Women’s safety was a central theme of the TVK’s campaign, with Vijay citing the Anna University sexual assault case of December 2024 as emblematic of the law and order failures of the previous DMK government.
717 TASMAC shops ordered shut
On May 11, his second day in office, Vijay issued an executive order directing the closure of 717 state-run TASMAC liquor retail outlets within two weeks. The order covers all shops operating within a 500-metre radius of places of worship, educational institutions and major bus stands.
Of the 717 outlets earmarked for closure, 276 are located near temples, mosques and churches, 186 near schools and colleges and 255 near bus stands. Tamil Nadu currently operates 4,765 TASMAC outlets in total.
Vijay meets Stalin
On May 11, Vijay called on DMK president MK Stalin at his Alwarpet residence in Chennai, in what both sides described as a courtesy call. Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi received Vijay warmly, and the two leaders exchanged silk shawls. The visit came after an acrimonious electoral contest between the two parties.
Within the DMK, Udhayanidhi Stalin was subsequently elected Leader of the Legislature Party, formally positioning himself as the face of the principal opposition in the Assembly.
Also Read: Will TN CM Vijay scrap Parandur airport project amid rising environmental concerns?
Astrologer in secretariat
An appointment on May 12 generated considerable commentary. An official government order confirmed the induction of Radhan Pandit Vettrivel, Vijay’s personal astrologer and spiritual adviser, as Officer on Special Duty (Political) to the Chief Minister.
Radhan Pandit, who describes himself as a political and celebrity astrologer, has over four decades of experience in Vedic astrology and numerology. He had publicly predicted in January that TVK would win 180 seats; the party won 108.
Opposition figures and several commentators questioned the appropriateness of a government-funded appointment for a practitioner with no administrative background. Vijay quickly revoked the appointment in an official press release. The statement hasn’t mentioned the reason behind the U-turn of Vijay’s move.
Trust vote passed with 144 MLAs
On May 13, Vijay won the trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly with the support of 144 MLAs. Twenty-two voted against and five abstained. Support came from TVK’s coalition partners, Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML, as well as a faction of rebel AIADMK legislators who broke from the party’s official position.
Since the floor test, there has been a tussle between two factions inside AIADMK party, with a sect backing Edappadi Palanisamy, who refused to back Vijay, and another sect consisting of S.P. Velumani, C.Ve. Shanmugam and Vijaya Baskar, among 20+ MLAs, who have backed Vijay in the floor test.
Also Read: Suvendu’s blitzkrieg in first week as CM: Border fencing to bulldozers to RG Kar
DA hike for 16 lakh state employees
On May 14, the government announced a 2 per cent hike in Dearness Allowance for state government employees and teachers, revising it from 58 per cent to 60 per cent with effect from January 1, 2026. The revision benefits approximately 16 lakh employees, teachers, pensioners and family pensioners.
The additional annual expenditure on account of the hike is estimated at Rs 1,230 crore, a significant outgo for a government that has simultaneously promised a white paper on the state’s fiscal position and acknowledged a debt burden of over Rs 10 lakh crore inherited from the previous administration.
Cabinet unveiled
On May 16, Vijay released portfolio allocations for his ten-member cabinet. He retained the home and public administration departments. Veteran ten-time MLA KA Sengottaiyan was appointed Finance Minister.
TVK general secretary Bussy Anand was given rural development and poverty alleviation. First-time MLA Aadhav Arjuna took charge of public works and sports development. S Keerthana, 29, from Sivakasi, was appointed Industries Minister, becoming the youngest minister in the state’s history. CTR Nirmal Kumar was handed the prevention of corruption portfolio alongside electricity.
The cabinet draws from a mix of experienced legislators, first-time MLAs and Vijay’s close organisational associates, with no representatives from the alliance partners in the first phase of inductions.
Comments are closed.