Tamil Nadu CM Vijay signs first files, offers subsidised electricity, women’s protection force

C Joseph Vijay signed his first documents as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on the morning of May 10, Sunday, soon after his oath-taking ceremony, including subsidised electricity and the formation of a women’s protection force.  

Actor-turned-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C Joseph Vijay was sworn in as the CM of Tamil Nadu at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on May 10. 

After he took office, he signed off on three schemes–one providing 200 free units of electricity, setting up a women’s protection force called ‘Singapenn’, and anti-drug squads to be set up in every district. 

Speaking after signing the files, Vijay said that the era of social justice had begun, and that his party could be trusted “100%” to stand by minorities. “This is a new beginning, a new era of real secular social justice starts now… We will stand with minorities. You can trust Vijay 100%,” he said. 

Vijay’s elevation to the Chief Minister’s post comes after TVK emerged as the single largest party in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections by winning 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly. TVK’s tally includes two seats that Vijay won—Perambur and Trichy East. 

Though the party fell short of the majority mark of 118 on its own, it later secured the support of the Congress, the CPI, the CPI(M), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). 

With the backing of alliance partners and outside support, the Vijay-led front crossed the magic number with the support of 120 MLAs, paving the way for the formation of the new government in Tamil Nadu. 

Along with Vijay, nine ministers also took oath as members of the new cabinet. This included Vijay’s close associate Adhav Arjuna, KG Arunraj, KA Sengottaiyan, P Venkataramanan, R Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, TK Prabhu, and S Keerthana. 

The oath taking ceremony including the singing of Vande Mataram followed by the National Anthem. 

However, the newly formed government cannot formally begin functioning until it successfully completes two crucial constitutional procedures in the Assembly — the election of the Speaker and the trust vote. 

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has directed the Vijay-led government to prove its majority on or before May 13. 

As part of this process, the Assembly must first elect a Speaker and Deputy Speaker. The ruling alliance is expected to nominate its candidate for Speaker, while the opposition may field a rival nominee, paving the way for a contest on the Assembly floor. If there is a contest, voting will be conducted, and the winning candidate will be declared Speaker. 

Following the Speaker’s election, the government will move a confidence motion either on the same day or on May 13.

The final count will be submitted to the Speaker, who will announce whether the government has won or lost the confidence motion. If the motion is passed, the Vijay government will continue in office. If defeated, the Governor could initiate steps to dissolve the government. With the ruling alliance holding only a narrow majority, the presence of every MLA from the alliance camp is expected to be crucial during the floor test. 

With IANS inputs