C Joseph Vijay was sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Sunday, marking a new beginning for the state. In a speech, he vowed to bring about real, secular, and social justice. He made three key announcements: providing 200 units of free electricity, constituting a task force for women's safety, and setting up a task force to tackle the drug menace.
Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats but fell short of the majority mark. The party has the support of 120 MLAs in the 234-member assembly, including five MLAs from the Congress party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Vijay over a phone call, and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, expressed his good wishes on social media. Vijay's rookie outfit shattered the five-decade Dravidian duopoly to emerge as the single-largest party in the assembly elections.
Vijay will face the challenge of governing the state, which has a debt of over ₹10 trillion and an "empty treasury." He has promised transparent governance and vowed to release a white paper on the financial conditions.
