White paper promise, Gen Z support: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay signals ‘new era’ in first address

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office to C Joseph Vijay, TVK chief, as the 13th Chief Minister, along with nine TVK ministers, at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium. Vijay delivered his maiden address, calling for a fresh government and a new era of secular, social justice. He described himself as an ordinary person, promising only what is possible and acknowledging a heavy fiscal burden of over ₹10 lakh crore debt, with a plan to release a white paper on the state’s finances for transparency. He thanked Congress leadership and allied parties (CPI, CPI(M), VCK, IUML) for support, and recognized Gen Z voters, including those who call him “Vijay Mama.” The cabinet includes ministers N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, KA Sengottaiyan, KG Arunraj, P Venkataramanan, R Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, TK Prabhu and S Keerthana.

In its maiden contest, TVK won 108 of 234 seats, becoming the single largest force in the Assembly. The party fell short of a simple majority and later received external support from Congress (5), CPI(M) (2), CPI (2), VCK (2) and IUML (2), several of whom were earlier part of the DMK-led alliance.