Vijay’s oath wasn’t an hour old when he started signing files.
Three of them. From a political force that demolished the 50-year DMK-AIADMK duopoly, the speed was expected. Before the ministers had finished taking their own oaths inside Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday: 200 units of free monthly electricity for every domestic household, a women’s safety force, and a white paper on the DMK’s finances — because Vijay claims his predecessors left him a ₹10 lakh crore debt.
That last claim makes the first two files complicated.
The ₹10,000 Crore Question
The free power scheme adds ₹1,730 crore a year to Tamil Nadu’s subsidy bill. Combined with existing schemes, the state’s domestic electricity subsidy now crosses ₹10,000 crore annually — funded initially through an advance from the Contingency Fund, pending legislative approval.
That’s a lot of money to find in what Vijay called an “empty treasury.” Stalin pushed back within hours, saying the budget already laid out the state’s finances and “the money is all there.” Nobody agreed on how many seats Vijay would win, but voters wanted change. Whether they wanted the bill attached to it is a different question.
The Cabinet Vijay Built Without Congress
The 9-member cabinet is entirely TVK — zero Congress ministers, despite Congress propping up the government to 120 MLAs. The roster includes an ex-IRS officer, ex-AIADMK veteran KA Sengottaiyan, ex-VCK leader Aadhav Arjuna, and S Keerthana — a 29-year-old doctor from Sivakasi who happens to be a fluent Hindi speaker.
That last bit matters in a state where Hindi imposition is a third-rail issue. Including a Hindi-speaking minister isn’t an accident.
The Congress exclusion is louder than any inclusion. Vijay took their numbers and left them out of governance — confirming that the coalition built in 48 hours is transactional, not partnership.
What the White Paper Decides
The white paper will land soon. If it confirms ₹10 lakh crore in debt, the free power scheme becomes harder to defend on a treasury Vijay just called empty. If it doesn’t, his opening punch at the DMK loses its sting and Stalin’s rebuttal lands instead.
Either way, the bill is now his to pay.